While the Tufts Pre-College Summer Program: Climate Resilience Institute was only for 2 weeks, the lessons learned and connections made will last a lifetime. The program directors did an excellent job at curating the most exciting and interesting 10 days of classes. Each day we learned something new and everyone was always engaged. Part of what made learning so interesting was that everyone in the program was eager to learn more about that topic; we all wanted to know more about how we can be climate resilient and how we can encourage others to be as well. Through a variety of field trips, lectures, guest speakers, group activities, and interactive lessons, Tufts ensured that we were always having a fun time while learning about a pressing matter. I would definitely recommend this program to anyone looking to major in something related to the environment.
This course serves as a great introduction into the Environmental Studies field and allows for students to figure out if this is something they would consider as a major when entering college. For the majority of the students, this just confirmed the fact that they wanted to continue learning and researching about such a great issue. As someone who signed up for this program to gain a greater understanding of the topic, this confirmed my passion for fighting climate change. Many others joined for the same purpose!
Every activity we did was unique and interesting, sometimes we would work as a group and listen to other people's ideas learning more about their thought processes. Other times we worked alone in observing the environment around us. Either way, each activity we partook in left us with a deeper knowledge of building and fighting climate resilience.
Besides the actual program, living on campus was a great fun and learning experience for many of us! Living independently for the first time, we had to figure out how to handle our time and live with roommates. The dining hall food was amazing, but for those who did not enjoy it, they were able to have food delivered to them very quickly anywhere on campus! Tufts itself is a very beautiful place, with incredible buildings and dorms, as well as an outdoor area. After classes students would go outside on the quad to talk, play games, and to find new friends. A great place for socialization, many students spent their free time there making amazing memories and meeting new people. Thankful for this experience, I can confidently say that I as well as everyone else who completed this program would definitely recommend this to other high school students!
