Professional Portfolios: Start Your Academic Footprint Now

During my junior year, I embarked on a rather enriching journey. I was told to create an academic portfolio. This sounded like a daunting task. I was heavily involved in school and I didn’t know if I could write about it all. As I began to work on it, I realized it would be a great opportunity to show people all the hard work I did in high school.

There were four major areas to the portfolio: autobiography, resume, outline of your extracurricular activities, and a list of certificates and awards. First, I took on the autobiography. I talked about everything from the types of classes I was taking to future aspirations. I even talked about my hobbies and interest. After that, I created my resume. Making the resume was like creating a shorter version of my autobiography. I provided dates of how long I was a member of certain clubs.

Then came the fun part: writing a statement on how my extracurricular activities helped me develop into a better person. This is the main part of the portfolio. I had to elaborate on why I joined them and the benefits that I received from joining them. Yet another opportunity to unleash my creative side! I was required to add photos to this part as well. Luckily, I had just received a digital camera as a gift, so I took a lot pictures when I was doing activities with my student groups. I would journal about my sentiments towards my groups and highlighted my more profound experiences. I made photo copies of the certificates that I got from being on honor roll and put them in my portfolio. Another important document that I put in was an unofficial copy of my transcripts. Lastly, I created my cover page with a famous quote that I liked and a photo of myself. After much hard work and diligence, I had created my academic portfolio!

Making the portfolio was one of the most productive projects I created in high school. My portfolio was impressive enough to get me a few scholarships for college. Having a completed resume also comes in handy now that I am applying for jobs. I don’t have to start a resume from scratch. Working on my portfolio also made me more fluent in Microsoft Publisher. At my school, every senior had to turn in a portfolio in order to graduate. My portfolio came in handy around that time. Having a portfolio is like having an academic scrapbook. It’s truly a great way to show yourself off.

-- Amanda Scurlock

Brownstone Intern