In a world where social media stars rise and fall, Helen Piltner isn’t just an average 20 year old . She has mastered the way of balancing her life as a Student at Harvard and a rising tiktok star. Helen has used her platform to encourage and motivate thousands of high schoolers from around the nation helping them achieve their dream education. With a Social media bearing of 49.8 K followers on Youtube, over 7000 on Instagram and 2192 on tiktok she has become a beacon of motivation to assist those aiming for the top universities.
Helen was born on the 13th of April 2004 in the United States of America to a Chinese-German heritage middle class family. Her Journey to success begins by attending a public school in Savannah, Georgia. From a young age, Helen illustrated a passion for learning. Her diligence was evident when she finished high school before her peers by taking extra classes and always staying ahead of the curriculum.
Throughout her 9th, 10th and 11th grade she balanced her hectic academic schedule with her multiple interests and hobbies. These extracurricular activities weren’t just for time pass but would also stand her out in a competitive world of college applications.
Helens academic achievements are impressive but their involvement in extracurriculars is what really sets her apart from everyone else. Her list of extracurricular activities is diverse and intensive. She was a research assistant at an imaging lab in Massachusetts General Hospital and a Chemistry Lab, she undertook the work as an independent researcher in 10th grade, these experiences helped deepen her understanding of scientific research skills and critical thinking.
She had multiple roles at a high school theater program as a choreographer, Music director and Student director. Other than Academics and research, she played the piano at a retirement Home, and became the President of the Cultural Appreciation Club and Mu Alpha Theta Chapter. This provided her with communication skills, teamwork and leadership which is beneficial both in and out of the classroom.
She also worked as an analyst for a Harvard Biotechnology Club. Alongside her role as a video executive for “Harvard crimson”, she managed to content create while influencing thousands highlighting her ability to tackle problems and have a sense of responsibility while mastering each.
These Extracurriculars shaped her life by building a foundation. They taught her valuable lessons of Self-actualization, Resilience, Confidence and leadership. Extracurriculars are very underrated, people don’t realize their importance on university applications. Not only do these extracurricular activities make a resume better but they also make an individual stand out from the crowd by displaying their qualities and passions, alongside demonstrating their well-rounded personality which academic scores are unable to showcase.
First and utmost, Helen shows consistency from a young age, pushing herself to achieve more. Her hard work paid off when she was accepted into one of the world’s most prestigious universities.
Secondly, Helens story highlights the importance of Extracurricular activities in the process of college applications. Although from academic achievements, admissions officers are looking for more than just grades. They look for other qualities like leadership and commitment that makes you different from other applicants.
Finally Self-Actualization, By pursuing her passion Helen has a sense of fulfillment with what she has achieved so far. This gives her the strength to combat any obstacles and become a well rounded individual for the future by focusing on her personal growth and development.
Despite Helen being extremely busy with her Extracurriculars, she made sure her Academic performances didn’t fall behind. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA , ranked 6 out of the 3357 and has an Academic index of 230 out of 240. Helen was 1 out of the 4 who managed to get accepted by Harvard despite having a low acceptance rate. She was able to achieve this because of her Academics and a rich extracurricular profile. This marked an impressive start for Helen who was able to attend HARVARD from the Savannah area in Southern Georgia.
Helen is truly a role model for the younger generation and from this story we have to take away the lesson of being able to balance out academics along with our interest which will benefit in the process of university applications. It’s important to understand the fact that Stellar test scores and GPA isn’t a way to judge or define a person, your interests in other activities are equally as important.
For Parents and Students this story serves as a guide to start putting interests in extracurriculars because these activities teach qualities that schools might fail to teach.
With the right mindset, dedication and focus on personal growth, anything is possible
Parents who are debating whether interests and activities besides academics might harm their children and do nothing but waste time are completely wrong, and they should take time to reconsider their thoughts. With consistency and leadership, anyone can craft their lives into a captivating narrative that would set you apart from competitive college applications.
