By A’ser Mostafa

While most of us were trying to find something to do during the summer, three Tempe Prep students had it all planned out. These students attended summer programs at two prestigious universities.  Two attended programs at Stanford University in Stanford, Calif. And one attended a summer program at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. nine miles west of Boston.

Senior Cameron Pickard attended a pre-college program for high school students at Stanford, where he took courses in computer science. “It was really a good start to see what college is going to be like when I get out of school,” says Cameron. “The classes were challenging and took a lot of work and effort, but I still had time to explore Palo Alto or go into San Francisco.”

He also noted the many differences between the classes at Tempe Prep and those at Stanford: “The biggest differences had to be the fact that they were both code-based, which is something we don’t really see at TPA, and also class size. The two classes I had were 30 people and 280 people.

“Because of the class sizes, the instructors were a lot different too. They pretty much ran through lecture for an hour each day and then were just available during office hours. So, if you wanted to actually approach your professor, office hours were pretty much the only time.”

The living situation also proved to be helpful for Pickard, even though there were some deficiencies.  “I lived in a complex with eight dorm houses in it, mine being Paloma, and they were all connected through the dining hall. You spend a lot of time in the dorms, especially working on homework or meeting up with friends. It was a really awesome environment and I met a lot of people there that I still talk to now. The only downside is that the ice cream machines were always broken.”

Overall the experience showed Pickard how to adapt to college later in life. “It helped show me what my classes are going to be like in college and what to expect from that kind of profession. Also, this was my first time coding, so I think it is going to help not going into college blind now.”

Another student, senior Lindsay Newfeld, did a pre-collegiate program for high school  students interested in political science. “My main focus was politics and public policy,” Newfeld says. The main focus of the program was “deliberate democracy,” which Newfeld says is different from other political science programs she’s been in. “There was definitely more of an emphasis … on the political side as opposed to the legal side.”

Newfeld also noted some obvious differences between Stanford and Tempe Prep. “There was more in-class debate than here at TPA.” She also states that her instructors at Stanford were very “knowledgeable in their subject and “open to discussion.”

As far as her living situation, Newfeld said “We stayed in a house usually occupied by the frat Kappa Sigma; they cleaned it out for us so it was pretty nice.”

Junior Madison Hanosh did a pre-med program for high school students at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass. “I am not sure of the exact level of the classes I took during the program. I had a lot of lectures from different doctors about research that they are doing and the kind of work that they do. We had talks about surgeries, research, medical work in third-world countries, and everyday life as a doctor.

“We also did a lot of PBL, which is problem based learning; students do this during medical school. We were given a ‘patient’ and their symptoms and we had to diagnose them. We also had a research project that took up more of our time than the classes and lectures. It was called S21 and we had to find a solution to a 21st century problem; my group chose nerve damage.”

Hanosh says she and her peers were heavily self-reliant throughout the program. “My classes were different from TPA classes in the sense that we were teaching ourselves in a way. We were given materials and guidance but rather than being taught by a teacher we took the lead in our learning and projects. Our mentors were there to answer questions that we couldn’t possibly answer on our own. But other than that it was up to us to solve our problems using research and logic.”

She also states that she got to visit some sites while at the program. “One of the main ones was Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. We got to learn about their different techniques and innovations in rehabilitation, which was amazing.”

She adds, “I learned a lot at Brandeis but I think the most important thing I learned while I was there was that I can’t let fear get in the way of what I want to do.”

If any high school students are interested in doing programs such as these, visit the university’s website and search for programs you’d be interested in.