CAS, or Creativity, Activity, and Service, is one of the core components of the IB Diploma where students complete experiences in the three named categories. Students sometimes pick CAS experiences based on convenience and time availability, which often results in them dreading CAS rather than using it to their advantage. Today, I hope to share my experience of joining the Yearbook Team for a CAS Project during the Diploma Program (DP), and how this helped me apply for university and figure out my passions.
CAS Experience vs. Project?
You may be wondering: What is the difference between a CAS experience and a CAS project? CAS experiences are shorter yet ongoing activities that you reflect on consistently throughout the DP. These may include participating in a sport for Activity, practicing an instrument for Creativity, or volunteering in a local community for Service. A CAS Project, on the other hand, is a one-time project that you plan, carry out, and reflect on over a longer period of time. For instance, you could organize a local sports tournament, host a poetry slam, or host bake sales to raise money for a dedicated cause.
What Did I Do?
As any other IB student, starting the DP meant brainstorming for CAS experiences. I decided to join my school’s Yearbook Team as I was interested in simple digital design which didn’t require too much prior experience, and I wanted to improve the yearbook to capture various school experiences.
Upon joining, I worked on the ‘Creativity’ strand of CAS by completing various activities which included:
- Designing various pages I was assigned to by creating a page layout, collecting relevant photographs, pasting the images in the layout, and editing the relevant texts accompanying the images
- Photographing during various sports, academic, and social school events as well as portraits of students
As I progressed into DP2, I was promoted to Yearbook Head alongside two of my fellow Co-Heads. Later on, I used this experience as my CAS Project. Notably, my work changed from being more creativity-focused to more organizational. With my other Co-Heads, the activities we focused on included:
- Planning out yearbook themes, color schemes, and pages the yearbook would include
- Organizing new member recruitment and application overviews
- Delegating tasks to members and holding weekly check-ins with our team
- Communicating internally with our members and externally with school staff to ensure pages were done on time, we had relevant photos and were aware of school events occurring, etc.
What Did I Learn?
From my time as a yearbook member and photographer, there are various soft skills which I developed. These all reflect the personal challenges, learning outcomes, and planning that I faced during my CAS project.
- Leadership: Through all the planning, communicating, and decision-making, a key skill I developed was leadership. This was essential for the team, but also applicable in my other school work as I learnt to manage time to reach a specific goal, find realistic solutions to problems and resolve conflicts.
- Collaboration and communication: Working with my Co-Heads, school staff, and our Yearbook Team developed my collaboration and communication skills. To plan out pages, discuss deadlines or resolve conflicts, I worked with people to clearly indicate what was to be done and how we were going to achieve it. Moreover, these skills were also relevant when working in diverse teams in university and outside of school.
- Adaptability: When certain (unexpected) challenges arose, I learned to be flexible when finding solutions. I later found that this skill is applicable everywhere, both in and out of university/school. Being able to handle changes at short-notice ensures I can continue working towards my goals without getting discouraged by setbacks.
On a realistic note, as irritating as CAS reflections might have been at the time, looking back at my yearbook experience now has allowed me to recognize that my time hadn’t gone to waste. In fact, during those 2 years, I was constantly learning new things whilst doing something I enjoyed. Furthermore, CAS also became very handy when filling out my university applications.
How Did CAS Help Me?
Through my experiences working on the yearbook, I not only developed as a learner, but was also able to develop skills I reflected on in my university applications. Universities often search for students who are not only academically accomplished, but also demonstrate soft non-academic skills. I was also able to showcase the impact my work with the yearbook had on my academic and non-academic life and the growth I experienced as a learner and an individual.
Prior to university, my CAS Project also helped me realize my passion for planning, organization, and working within international teams. This furthermore guided me through university applications, leading me to apply for degrees that emphasize such skills and interests. In other words, CAS helped me pursue a path which builds on my strengths, thus making me feel more confident in my long term aspirations.
Final Takeaway
To conclude, choosing a CAS activity and project that I truly enjoyed helped me develop various skills which influenced my personal interests and potential career aspirations. It was also something I was able to reflect on in my university applications. With that said, I would encourage any incoming or current IB student to see CAS as an opportunity to have fun and boost your skillset for the future. Use CAS to your advantage!