Freshman College Counseling Blog | The Dunham School | Private PreK-12 | Baton Rouge, LA

Your Future Starts Now: Building Your College Resume in Ninth Grade

October 2025

You've made it through the first several weeks of high school, and you're getting into a routine with classes, friends, and maybe a new club or sport. It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, but did you know that everything you're doing right now is helping you build your future?

Think of your high school career as a story you are writing. And just like any good story, you need to keep track of the important events. That's where your college resume comes in.

It might sound too early, but utilizing your Portfolio and Resume tools in Naviance (under the About Me tab on your homepage) to track your accomplishments now—in the fall of ninth grade—will make your life so much easier down the road. It will be your go-to source for everything you need for college applications, scholarship forms, and future job interviews.

Why Start Now?

By the time you're a senior, you'll have four years of classes, projects, activities, and memories to sort through. Trying to remember every award you won or every hour you volunteered will feel like a puzzle with missing pieces.

Starting a resume now means you won't have to scramble later. It allows you to:

• See your progress: You can see how you've grown and what you've accomplished over time.
• Be prepared: When a scholarship opportunity or college application asks for specific information, you'll have it all in one place.

Identify your strengths: As you update your document, you'll start to see patterns in your achievements, helping you understand what you're truly passionate about.

What to Include in Your College Resume

This isn't a formal, one-page resume yet. Think of it as a comprehensive list. As mentioned earlier, you use the Portfolio and Resume tools in your Naviance account.

Here are some simple ideas to get you started:

1. Personal Information

• Your Name, Email Address, and Phone Number

2. Academics

• Courses: List the courses you are taking this year.
• Grades: Keep track of your grades as you get your report cards.
• Academic Awards: Any awards for a high GPA, subject-specific excellence, or honor roll recognition.
• Projects: Major projects you are proud of. Did you write an impressive research paper or build a great science fair project? Add it here.

3. Extracurricular Activities

• Clubs: List the clubs you joined and any positions you hold.
• Sports: Note the sport, the team, and any awards or recognition you received.
• Leadership Roles: Any formal or informal leadership roles, even if it's just organizing a study group.
• Community Service/Volunteer Work: List the organization, the hours you volunteered, and what you did.

4. Work Experience and Hobbies

• Jobs: If you have a part-time job or a summer job, write down your responsibilities.
• Hobbies and Personal Interests: Are you a talented artist? A self-taught coder? Do you play an instrument? These personal passions show colleges who you are outside of the classroom.

Make It A Habit

Make a recurring reminder on your calendar to update this document every semester. A simple check-in at the end of the fall semester (around December) and again at the end of the school year (May/June) will ensure you don't forget anything.

Starting this simple habit now will not only help you with college applications but will also give you a clear record of all your hard work and accomplishments. Your future self will thank you for it.