YYGS has made me a more responsible individual by enlightening me about the global challenges faced by the humans round the globe. This also made me increase my participation in enhancing the community by giving service in various ways.
YYGS gave me a priceless feeling: hope. Living in a country under a military coup, I often find myself losing faith in humanity but seeing all the incredible projects that YYGS students are working on assures me that humanity is headed in the right direction and motivates me to be on the same train as them.
I learned how to work with students from different countries. I learned that everyone with different backgrounds could contribute to solve global issues.
“YYGS kindled my interest in Economics and inspired me to use economics to make a difference in the world.”
I am constantly surprised to see the impact that YYGS continues to have on my life, even months later. Shu Yi’s incredible opening keynote on the “Secret to Solving Global Challenges” continues to be one of my favorite lectures, and the seminars on “Glamourising Suffering” and the representation of minorities in the media have made me constantly think about our exposure to media, its effects and question things such as how much intent matters if the outcome was good.
YYGS achieved to exceed all of the expectations that I had on this program. Since the beginning of YYGS, I challenged myself to try and do things out of my comfort zone, for example, I chose the seminar, The Psychology of Social Inequality. This is something that I wouldn’t usually choose however it is something that is really interesting to me. This seminar ended up being my favorite, every lesson and discussion that we had was so engaging.
When I finished YYGS, I closed my laptop and looked around. Although I was still sitting in the same old room as two weeks ago, I was not the same student. I now had friends from various nations, which further deepened my interest in the global economy. Most importantly, I was now part of the YYGS community. I have like-minded lifelong friends combined with distinct powers born from pure diversity.
The program built a space for a community of curious students to thrive together. I particularly remember the Family Times and the discussions we had, bouncing ideas off of each other, and making friends with everyone there.
The networking portion of the program was the most memorable for me. I had never been in a cohort of high school students that don’t live within a 10-mile radius from me. Seeing over 200 PLE students on Zoom calls, some from countries I barely knew about, continued to impress me even after the final lecture. As we talked about the impact of community projects, different school systems, and YYGS as a whole during our free time, I became more outgoing because I truly felt comfortable with everyone.
