Sunder Tavanerdene

“I have learned how math–especially one parameter equation and regression–is used to predict flu, importance of data collection and data analysis in biomedical sector, how diet helps cancer prevention and cancer war-winning, cancer and aging in relation to DNA damage, and much more detailed information about stem cell therapy, microorganism, and bioinformatics. YYGS was a great and broad knowledge investment for my further studies.”

After YYGS, I was officially invited to participate in the World Youth Forum-2019 in Egypt. 

Anastaseya Kulikova

“My favorite seminar was Resolving International Disputes: World Court and Beyond because although it was similar to a lecture/discussion based class, we did a mini mock trial session using the “Aerial Herbicide Spraying” case! It was so fascinating seeing how the entire international court system worked in a small, short scenario played by the class.”

Vaidehee Durgude

“At YYGS, I heard more than I could possibly imagine. A single conversation taught me more about human geography than a semester of freshman World Geography. Reading about censorship and progress is one thing; it’s another thing entirely for friends to tell you about it firsthand. There’s something moving about putting faces to the stories you’d otherwise only hear about in articles and textbooks.”

Sophia Chun

“Meet a new friend at school, make conversation with the customer behind you at the grocery store, or approach acquaintances in your community and often times conversations begin with “how are you?” followed by a lingering silence. However, throughout the two weeks I spent at YYGS, rather than trying to come up with conversation starters, conversations led themselves. “Where are you from?” could easily flow into a discussion of culture, politics, food, or a plethora of fun facts that even the internet couldn’t provide.”

Xabier Sardina

“One of my favorite seminars simply posed the question: How we should allocate liabilities for ransomware attacks and data breaches? We ended up taking the entire time of the seminar debating different theories and possibilities and their implications for future technological advancements. This became an educational experience that opened my eyes to the correlation between technology and federal policy.”

Thembisile Gausi

“The experience which warmed my heart and made me truly feel at home at YYGS was the day of my birthday, the 19th of June. During my breakout session, one of my new YYGS friends announced my birthday and my whole group sang Happy Birthday to me in over 10 different languages! In that moment I knew I had found lifelong friends and family which I would utterly miss at the end of the program.”

Aristides Merida

“Burning the midnight candle talking to an immigrant from Rwanda about whether or not there is a god. Listening to a Jewish student from London explain why the failure of the Two-State Solution can be blamed on Israel, a nation I thought he’d be intent on defending. Having dinner with a self-proclaimed Marxist professor living in the United States. Not once in my life did I ever see myself having these conversations. But one thing is for sure. After having these conversations, a lot of flaws in my thinking were laid bare.

Madina Abduvohitova

“I felt like I’m at home and found the community of like-minded peers to which I truly belonged. I met so many new people with different backgrounds and views of life and learned a lot from them.”

Recently I accepted a year-long voluntary mentorship position in Young Debater School Mentorship Program. I’m excited to mentor prospective students. My responsibilities as a new mentor are to motivate and guide students to achieve their goals and help them work on their personal development. This is my chance to make one more positive impact in my community.

Yeun Gye Choi

“YYGS Asia in the 21st Century was a great program that really opened my eyes and allowed me to have great connections with great, special people from around the world. Meeting a lot of new people from every continent including Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas, YYGS was my first and the greatest opportunity to meet diverse people from different countries.”

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