Activities Build Future Ready Students
This year LEAF is featuring blogs from our Board members and volunteers sharing why they give their time and talents in service to District 742 students. Today’s blog is from Hillary Johnson, a member of our LEAF Board.
When I joined St. Cloud Tech High School as Activities Director a year ago, I knew extracurricular activities were important. But I don’t think I truly understood just how much those opportunities depend on the support of our community until I stepped into this role.
Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege of seeing firsthand what LEAF does for our students. It’s easy to think of LEAF as an organization that gives grants or raises money, but what I see every day is something much bigger. LEAF opens doors. It removes barriers. It makes sure students have the opportunity to discover who they are, develop their talents, and find a place where they belong.
Our District 742 Secondary Instructional Vision is to prepare students to be future ready, and activities are one of the ways we accomplish that goal.
Walk into any practice, rehearsal, competition, or club meeting and you’ll see students doing much more than learning a sport or activity. They’re leading teammates, solving problems, thinking strategically, managing their time, working through challenges, and learning how to communicate with people who have different perspectives. Those are the skills employers and communities are looking for, and they are developed every single day through activities.
Approximately 95% of Fortune 500 CEOs participated in extracurricular activities when they were young. Studies have also found that more than 90% of women in executive leadership roles played sports during their youth. While not every student will become a CEO or executive, every student benefits from the confidence, resilience, teamwork, and leadership that activities help build.
The challenge is making sure every student has access to those opportunities.
That’s where LEAF makes such an incredible difference.
This year, I’ve watched the Activities Participation Fund quietly change lives. I’ve seen students receive financial assistance so they could join a team, purchase required equipment, or participate without worrying about whether their family could afford it. Those moments don’t always make headlines, but they matter. Every student deserves the chance to experience the friendships, mentorship, and personal growth that come from being involved.
LEAF’s impact goes even further. The generous support of our community through events like the Tech Activities Golf Scramble has helped create an endowment that continues to invest in our students year after year. Because of that support, we’ve been able to purchase a washer and dryer for our athletic department, so students always have access to clean uniforms. It removes one more barrier and allows students to participate with confidence and pride.
Individual LEAF grants have also transformed our programs. They have provided resources that simply wouldn’t fit within a school budget—basketball shooting machines, volleyball serving machines, golf bags, soccer equipment, and countless other items that help our students learn, improve, and compete. These investments give our coaches and advisors the tools they need to provide outstanding experiences while giving our students opportunities that rival those found anywhere.
Serving on the LEAF Board has been one of the most rewarding parts of my first year as Activities Director because I get to see both sides of the impact. I see the generosity of community members, businesses, and donors who believe in our students, and I see the confidence and excitement on students’ faces when they realize those investments were made for them.
That connection is powerful.
I am grateful to be part of a community that believes so deeply in its young people, and I can’t wait to see what we accomplish together in the years ahead.