Young Yale Global Scholars: Solving Global Challenges
The average American checks their phone 144 times per day. Public housing is problematic. Every problem is systemic. These are just a few of the topics I’ve explored in the past weeks. From July 7th to 19th, I lived in New Haven, in a dorm on Yale’s beautiful campus. I’ve learned more information that is both diverse and complex than I thought was possible in such a short amount of time. I’ve met people from more countries than I can count. And, most notably, I’ve worked with teens my age to create a mock non-profit organization to solve the challenge of climate change effects on ecosystems and their inhabitants.
When I first came to Yale, I was hesitant because I was intimidated by how smart and driven everyone seemed. It was a hot, humid day, and I was nervous about my academic capability and the busy day-to-day schedule. However, I quickly fell into the groove of things.
The campus was intimidating. Just having finished my second year of boarding school, I’m accustomed to living away from home, eating dining hall food three times a day, walking to classes across campus, and sharing a bathroom with 10+ girls, but Yale’s campus felt huge and every building looked the same to me. I arrived at all my commitments 15 minutes early for the first few days to ensure I wouldn’t be late.
I quickly found friends to walk to classes and eat meals with, and I talked to people from countries such as Brazil, Kuwait, China, New Zealand, and many more. Everyone was very driven and enthusiastic about learning. We had a structure called ‘Family Time” with a group of 10-14 students we would be with for an hour at the start and finish of every day. My group was filled with people each from a different country, and everyone had something new to bring to the table. Every night, we would have a discussion on each lecture from earlier that day. I was impressed by my peers’ understanding of the world and a myriad of topics. I learned a lot just by listening to them tell their stories and share their experiences.
In addition to a daily lecture and family time, I took 3 seminars, each 2 days long, which were hyper-focused on a specific topic. I took a seminar on terrorism and what defines it, the psychology of conspiracy theories, and the effects of consumerism and social media on society. These classes consisted of a small group discussion and an open learning environment. I liked working with other students on mini-projects within these seminars, such as creating a billboard design to captivate viewers, and breaking down the structure of the QAnon conspiracy.
The main project I worked on everyday was my capstone project based on climate change effects on ecosystems. The task was to create a non-profit organization to solve climate issues, and ask for grant money from the instructors. They had $50,000 of fake grant money that we had to try and gain. Working with a group consisting of 4 other students, we came up with a mock non-profit organization that creates microhabitats for native and wild bee species in the San Diego County area. This process was both creative and informative. It took immense effort and trial and error to develop this project. We had to do all the math for our microhabitats, for both the dimensions and cost. On the final day of the program, we presented our project to the entire track. It was exciting to see what the other groups had worked on.
In all, the most valuable knowledge I have learned while at Yale is not a fact or statistic, but merely the complexities and diversity between different people’s lives across the globe. YYGS has opened my eyes to the world. To share a classroom and dorm with students from over 150 countries was an amazing experience. It’s impressive how we all shared this experience and now have it in common, despite our differences.
