“During our first lecture, John Whalen spoke about the humanities field and the structure of the program. “If you’re not confused, you’re not thinking,” he said, and his words inspired me. YYGS is not about requests, grades, or showing someone what you learned. These are all important educational methods, but not more relevant than thinking and sharing your thoughts.”
“The evening was easily my favorite part of the day because of the Capstone Project. I remember that our capstone leaders Mpho and Madeline always, without fail, radiated with good energy after each long day. Their icebreakers and games were creative, fun, and legitimately productive. I borrow some of their ideas for when I lead activities in my dorm. There at Capstone, I met a great group of people that I still talk to today.”
“I enjoyed every minute from giving a speech about the Myths of Creativity during the Speaker Series to singing during the talent show. Everyone I interacted with was very open-minded and loved to share their ideas. I found similarities with many individuals from across the world and this really made me comfortable and appreciated.”
“It was astonishing and moving when Heather Wang took me to the top of Harkness Tower and I tried playing the big bell–and looked down onto the whole Yale campus, realizing that I was standing atop the tower of the most elite institution for academics in the world. My world has broadened so much along with the integration of American culture and liberal arts curriculum.”
“[YYGS] taught me about the value of humanity, the beauty in nature, and the potential to do something better in the world. I intend to find a way to intersect the analytical power of science and the lovely nature of humanities in the world. Surely, something good will come out of it.”
“Personally, the biggest stand-out factor academically was the capstone project. It incorporated university style source analysis as well as public speaking techniques into one 2-week long research project with a topic of my choosing. This gave me an in-depth view into marine biology and I now see it as a potential career path in the future.”
“I attended a variety of Azan Virji’s biomedical seminars. His seminars were something applicable on my life; it has a parallel in the inspiration that I took from the biomedical lessons and Azan’s drive towards becoming a physician/consultant in global health inspired me to pursue a path in the medical field.”
“Being biracial and polyglottic, I am fascinated by different cultures and languages. I met people from all around the world who shared the same interests as me and taught me so much about their cultures.”
“In my favorite CAM seminar, “Is it music to your ears?” we had a particularly interesting discussion on the use of profanity in music, its purpose, and its ultimate effect. Coming from many diverse backgrounds, my peers had very different opinions on the issue and their perspectives made me reflect on my own views.”
“Specifically, I loved every aspect of philosophy explored in every aspect of life there. I had always shown interest in the why of things and how they are important to know and to question, but I had not had an experience to branch out as much as I did by attending my favorite seminar ‘Bioethics Enhancement, Treatment, and the Self’ and by conversing with several friends who had a big desire to know every bit of philosophy possible.”
