Growing up, it was constantly being drummed into our heads that “education is the key to success.” Our parents made it very clear that without that key you were bound to be a failure. And now as a parent, it amazes me how very different we are bringing up our kids. Not being top in your class does not mean you are a failure, neither does it warrant harsh words from your parents. Granted, our parents did not know better, but man did we have it rough. For generations, success in many African households was about passing exams, securing admission, earning a respectable degree (think medicine, engineering, lawyer, architect. They used to be 5, I can’t remember the 5th one lol) and get a stable job. Oh how times have changed! Now if you google top careers, you will see that the careers dominating are healthcare, technology, finance, and AI, driven by high pay and demand. Looks like lawyers fell off….
Back then Co curricular activities were often treated as pleasant distractions that were useful for balance, but rarely essential. However, all that seems to be changing.
Today, universities, employers and even scholarship boards are looking beyond grades. They are asking different yet interesting questions. Questions like, Can you work in a team? Can you lead? How do you solve problems? Can you persist when things get hard?
Character as opposed to just credentials is the new currency.
And, some of the strongest character traits are built not in classrooms, but on playing fields, in rehearsal halls and behind computer screens. Let’s talk about the extra curricular activities that truly build character, shall we?
1. Sports: Discipline, Resilience and Leadership
There is something about sports that strips a person down to their core.
And it is almost all types of sports – from football in a dusty school field, swimming at dawn or track and field under a blazing sun. As a parent who has invested in sports for my daughter, including paying for private lessons for her, I know first hand how sports demand consistency. You show up even when you are tired and train even when nobody is watching. You lose publicly and you learn to return stronger.
That is character.
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Sports teach:
- Discipline – Training schedules do not negotiate with laziness.
- Resilience – You learn to recover from defeat without quitting.
- Teamwork – You cannot win alone.
- Emotional control – You lose without fighting; you win without arrogance.
- Leadership – Captains are not born; they are shaped through responsibility.
In Kenya, where athletics and different sports have produced global champions, we have already seen how sports can transform not just individuals but entire communities. But even for those who never turn professional, the lessons remain.
A former school athlete may not remember every match score, but they definitely will remember how it felt to push beyond limits. And that memory becomes a lifelong internal compass.
2. The Arts: Empathy, Confidence and Self Expression
Arts are often underestimated because they do not look “serious.” As an African, you know this all too well. But music, theatre, dance, creative writing, painting and much much more are some of the deepest character building tools available to young people.
Why? Because the arts force vulnerability. When a student steps onto a stage to sing a solo, read a poem or display a painting, they are exposing something personal. That courage builds confidence in a way exams never can.
The arts cultivate:
- Empathy – Acting and storytelling require understanding other perspectives.
- Confidence – Performing trains you to face audiences without fear.
- Creativity – Problem solving becomes imaginative rather than rigid.
- Emotional intelligence – Artists must understand emotion to express it.
- Cultural identity – Traditional dance, spoken word and music preserve heritage.
In a world increasingly dominated by technology, the ability to tell stories and connect emotionally is becoming rare and now, more than ever, powerful.
A child in drama club may grow into a compelling public speaker while a young poet may grow into a persuasive lawyer. And believe it or not, a guitarist may become a confident entrepreneur who knows how to command a room.
3. Coding & Tech Clubs: Problem Solving, Patience and Innovation
Whereas sports build physical resilience and arts build emotional intelligence, coding builds mental toughness.
There is nothing glamorous about debugging a stubborn line of code for hours. But that struggle teaches patience in its purest form. Tech based extra-curriculars like robotics clubs, coding bootcamps, hackathons and digital design labs train the mind to think structurally and logically. I know most schools have introduced coding to their curriculums, still, I feel like it is not being given the seriousness it deserves. This subject should be given as much airtime as the other subjects like say, mathematics, and not viewed as something to pass time with or even to satisfy parents that their kids are learning how to code.
Tech based extra curriculars build:
- Critical thinking – Breaking big problems into small, solvable parts.
- Persistence – Technology rarely works perfectly on the first try.
- Innovation – Young people learn to create solutions, not just consume them.
- Collaboration – Most tech projects require team input.
- Future readiness – Digital literacy is no longer optional.
A teenager who learns to code is learning syntax, yes, but they are also learning how to approach complex challenges without fear.
The Hidden Benefit: Identity Formation
Perhaps the greatest gift of extra curricular activities is identity. While academics often measure performance, extra curriculars shape personality.
A student who says, “I am a runner,” “I am a dancer,” or “I am a programmer,” carries a sense of self that extends beyond grades. That identity can anchor them through failure, transition and even uncertainty.
For the athlete, even when exams go badly, they still have discipline. When rejection letters come, the artist still has expression. And when the job market shifts, the coder still has adaptability. Character gives stability in unstable times.
The conversation is no longer whether extra curricular activities are important but rather, are we treating them as seriously as we treat academics?
Are schools investing in proper coaching and mentorship? What about the parents, are they allowing children to explore interests without immediately asking, “But will this make money?” Because the irony is, the very traits developed in sports, arts and coding; traits like leadership, creativity, disciplin and innovation are exactly what employers now prioritize.
The most successful young people of the next decade will not just be those who scored the highest marks. They will be those who learned how to fall, create, collaborate and build.
