In September 2021, I returned home after a typical school day and sat down at my desk to start my homework. When I went on YouTube to look for homework help, I came upon a video that intrigued me about summer college programs. I set aside my homework and tapped the video. I was really excited to learn about the summer college programs for high school students because I had no idea they existed before. The YouTuber mentioned Yale Young Global Scholars in the video. One of my all-time favorite colleges is Yale, so I started looking into YYGS right away.
Although the application process was fairly simple to follow, it took quite some time to complete. There were a few difficult parts that had me seriously think about myself and my long-term objectives. It took about a month to finish the whole application, including getting my transcript and recommendations. I was so nervous when I got an application update but looked at it immediately. I opened my application and saw the blue Yale confetti flying on my screen and “Congratulations!” in bold letters, and was ecstatic. Before I knew it, Yale University had accepted me into its online summer program for Innovations in Science and Technology!
My absolute favorite aspects of YYGS were family time, simulation, and the opportunity to learn from outstanding instructors. Being alone and not knowing anyone was one of my top concerns, especially because YYGS was held online this year. My time spent with family helped me create friendships and learn a few faces. We played online games together, presented “passion presentations,” and got to know one another throughout the course of the two weeks that we spent in family time with our instructor John Moise. My favorite part of family time was the passion presentations, which were optional presentations prepared by students to talk about whatever they were passionate about for roughly ten minutes. In simulation, living in a post-pandemic society was the subject given to us to expand on for group project and presentation. I first felt anxious when I learned that we had to do presentations, but my team was super cooperative, our project came out incredibly well, and the presentations went perfectly. I had such fantastic professors and instructors, in addition to the genuinely amazing and intriguing material I learned throughout those two weeks.
I sincerely recommend being a part of Yale Young Global Scholars because my knowledge and interests in subjects that I have been extremely enthusiastic about have grown as a result of being a part of this program. As well as learning new things, I created quite a few new friends with incredible people from all over the world! Prior to YYGS, I had never participated in a college summer program of any kind. As a result, I am immensely grateful that I discovered this program, joined YYGS in ‘22, and am now a YYGS Alumni.
Author Details:
Cadence Mitchell
Innovations in Science & Technology
OK, USA