The best way to stand out, be appreciated, and generally be successful doesn’t change much from high school through adult life:

1. Spend the time and energy to become really good at something.

2. Share it with people who need/want it.

Whether that’s scoring goals for the hockey team, writing columns for the newspaper, sharing your letters of rec system with fellow counselors at a conference, teaching guitar on YouTube, or doing heart surgery for a patient whose life is in your hands, when other people benefit from something you personally know how to do, you’re valuable. And you’re someone they’d miss if you went away.

When you’d be missed by one group, that only makes you more appealing to other groups, colleges, jobs, etc.