extra, extra, make it professional

My topic is extracurricular activities and professionalization. First, I had to look up professionalization because I didn’t know what it meant. According to the Princeton online dictionary:
S: (n) professionalization, professionalisation (the social process whereby people come to engage in an activity for pay or as a means of livelihood)
An example of this would be American sports
Extracurricular activities are important for college students for many reasons. It helps students to build respectable resumes. Potential employers look at the involvement level on resumes, and generally view high levels as positive. These extracurricular activities are also important as students try to get into colleges. Students can find hope in this, for according to The College Board, “the good news is that colleges pay attention to your life both inside and outside the classroom. Yes, your academics probably come first, but your activities reveal a great deal about you, such as:
How you've made a meaningful contribution to something
What your non-academic interests are
Whether you can maintain a long-term commitment
Whether you can manage your time and priorities
What diversity you'd bring to the student body

According to collegematchus.com’s article, “ College Admission Trends,” Those, “Students hoping to gain an edge in an increasingly competitive admission picture can improve their chances by “professionalizing” their extra-curricular by using slide portfolios, CD’s/CD-ROM’s, to showcase their work to art departments and admission committees. By creating artist’s statements, portfolios or publishing their manuscripts in advance of applying to colleges, students can stand out more from the rest of the crowd.” I suppose they make their hobbies and activities seem more like an opportunity to get paid or earn a livelihood, which is more appealing to colleges and potential employers.

http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=professionalization
http://www.collegematchus.com/top_trends.htm