Gabe Rose is president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, a fourth-year political science and communication studies student, a member of the steering committee for Dance Marathon, a board member of Bruin Democrats, a chartering member of the Bruins for Obama club and a campus tour guide, and is preparing to take the LSATs.
“I feel like I’m on the edge of collapse,” he said, but added that it always “works out” in the end.
Rose is just one of many high-achieving UCLA students who take on both an ambitious academic workload and a smorgasbord of campus activity.
“There’s a growing class of people who feel the need to be “˜hyper involved,'” he said. “There’s a sense now (that) your whole life is determined by what you do in college.”
Alexandra Robbins, the author of “The Overachievers: The Secret Life of Driven Kids,” said some high school students continue to maintain an intense attitude toward education even upon entering college.
“As one valedictorian explained to me, she viewed school as a conveyor belt,” she said.
She explained that the student thought high school led to college, to grad school, to a job, to a long line of promotions.
“That’s a popular notion among students, and it’s utterly exhausting,” Robbins said.
Elizabeth Gong-Guy, director of Student Psychological Services, said high school students who are used to being “hyper involved” have to adjust to the pace of college.
“Some of those overachieving habits die hard,” she said.
She added that the struggle to keep up with such intense workloads can lead to bigger issues.
“There are problems sometimes with young people, students who are driven by external factors to overachieve,” she said.
Gong-Guy said the key is to maintain wellness by using self-management skills.
“We see lots of folks that are missing the mark on achieving balance,” she said. “We try to provide a supportive environment here at UCLA that allows students to achieve what they can in a healthy and balanced way.”
To help students focus on their wellness and balance, Gong-Guy said the university has many services that provide a “working framework” to guide them along.
She said the university facilitates such programs through the Wooden Center, outreach programs and departments that support the development of self-management skills.
Gong-Guy said Student Psychological Services assists students in building up a resilience to stress.
“Part of that is taking better care in a much more mindful way of their fundamental needs,” she said.
But Gong-Guy said the university’s role is not to be a substitute for parents.
“It is really part of how we see student development ““ we see adults develop here, needing to make clearer choices about how they can balance their lives,” she said.
Rose added that his friends and family define him by how hard he works.
“My mom always tells me I’m doing too much,” Rose said. “Among friends, I get a reputation of being the “˜busy guy.'”
He said his level of activity is part of his personality, but he would not want to change.
“I love what I do,” he said. “I enjoy it so thoroughly … I can’t picture myself without doing it.”
But Rose said despite his dedication to his commitments, it is a challenge to keep up with his own schedule.
“It’s hard to keep everything straight in your head,” he said. “There’s not enough hours in the day.”
Jeenah Park is another “high-achieving” student who graduated in the spring and is now a student at the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, working on getting a master’s degree in education.
While an undergraduate, she was a resident assistant in De Neve Plaza for the Office of Residential Life, served as an Orientation Counselor and as an instructor at the Wooden Center for UCLA Recreation, and did lab research for two years.
Park said campus involvement is a defining aspect of being a university student.
“Picking classes and studying is only about 50 percent of the college experience,” she said.
She cites clubs and other campus activities as a vital way to make student connections.
“It’s about meeting people (and) the relationships you form,” Park said. “It’s hard to do that just in a classroom.”
She said she understands why some “hyper involved” students become so dedicated to their extracurricular activities.
“Having that interpersonal relationship is meaningful for most of us,” she said. “Making friends and being involved in the community means something to us.”
But she said she realized that some people are driven to be involved for career-oriented purposes.
“There are people who do it just for the sake of putting (something) on their resume,” she said.
Many students who immerse themselves in campus life tend to be in the same groups, such as the Student Alumni Association, Office of Residential Life, USAC, Dance Marathon, Orientation and Campus Tours.
Rose said people who belong to many of the groups jokingly refer to themselves as “The Cult” and are drawn to the same types of activities because they have common interests.
“I think similar types of people are interested in similar activity,” he said.
He added that there is natural overlap, but leaders are careful to check their biases when selecting applicants.
Rose said the large amount of “high driven” students benefits the campus life, until they overload themselves.
“It is very beneficial,” he said, adding that when people cannot keep their workloads in perspective, they sacrifice their well-being and become stressed.
Gong-Guy said students should think critically about their level of activity and what effect it will have
on their mental and physical well-being.
“It’s not sheer volume of activity that matters, it’s that you approach your goal mindfully,” Gong-Guy said.
Gong-Guy said one of the biggest achievements for college students is building the proper skills to live a healthy, balanced lifestyle.
“Life is about making choices and making the best choices, sometimes it’s a struggle,” she said. “This is really one of the fundamental tasks of adulthood: to learn how to make good decisions on how you are going to spend your time.”