By Jennifer Kiilerich
This July 6 - 23, rising high school seniors in the Cooke Young Scholars Program immersed themselves in life and learning at Vanderbilt University. During the initiative's annual Senior Summit, 57 students stayed on campus, studied in advanced courses and participated in engaging residential experiences.
Senior Summit was designed and hosted by Vanderbilt's Programs for Talented Youth (PTY), a unit within Peabody College of education and human development that worked in collaboration with the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. The foundation supports education for exceptional learners with financial need.
"PTY has designed and delivered programming to gifted students for 25 years, and we were thrilled to leverage that expertise to craft an enriching experience for the Cooke Young Scholars Program," said Camilla Benbow, Patricia and H. Rodes Hart Dean of Peabody College-and founder of PTY. PTY offers academic programs and courses for academically advanced K-12 students from around the country and world.
Students in JKCF's Young Scholars Program receive five years of pre-college academic and college advising, financial support for school, summer programs, internship opportunities and college scholarships. Their culminating summer experience is Senior Summit, and this year's participants hailed from 24 states.
"Exceptionally talented students are in neighborhoods and classrooms in every community," noted Jack Kent Cooke Foundation vice president of scholarships, Natalie Rodriguez Jansorn. "When educators and community leaders recognize this, they're more likely to spot and support bright, motivated students who might otherwise be overlooked."
Hands-on classes, real-world implications
In keeping with PTY's high-caliber programming, Summit scholars each selected a class from six college-level courses taught by Vanderbilt faculty and Ph.D. students from colleges and departments across the university.
While some designed working prototypes of adaptive toys, others built interactive sports technology such as jump-height sensors. Students analyzed psychology-driven data to answer questions about ADHD and food insecurity, and they planned urban transportation solutions.
Another group learned about advocacy and civil discourse in a Dialogue Vanderbilt-guided course that was spearheaded by Vice Chancellor for Administration Darren Reisberg. All the students gained skills that will serve them in college and beyond.
Kayla Gicovi, a scholar from Raleigh, North Carolina, took Ph.D. student Camille Msall's psychology class, Unlocking the Human Experience. The course, she said, "made me more passionate on what I want to study and challenged me in my approach."
In graduate student Kimberly Rogge-Obano's neuroscience course, Los Angeles native Marilyn Carlon studied the impact of early childhood trauma on the brain. "This was a new path of career I decided to explore, and it really changed my perspective," she said. "It helped me understand that I want to work with kids in the future."
The summit was punctuated with Senior Symposium on July 21 in the Commons Center-a chance for scholars to present their efforts to the Vanderbilt community and to Jack Kent Cooke leaders.
"Providing students the opportunity to stand beside a conference poster and present their work was an intentional component of the program design," said PTY executive director, Sarah DeLisle Fecht. "Senior Symposium was an exciting day for PTY staff and instructors who were able to see these amazing students showcase the depth of their on-campus learning."
A taste of college life
Students also participated in PTY-planned residential experiences, such as an evening at the home of Peabody's Melissa Gresalfi, professor of teaching and learning and dean of residential colleges and residential education, to learn from Gresalfi and other Vanderbilt faculty heads of house about Vanderbilt's unique residential model. Plus, students enjoyed a movie on the Wyatt lawn and visits to nearby Hillsboro Village neighborhood hotspots.
Vanderbilt's Office of Undergraduate Admissions gave campus tours, and learners-who would be first-generation college students-attended a college fair and higher education planning sessions. "This experience helped take some of the mystery out of college; specifically, how to get in, what's expected, and how to navigate it," said Jansorn.
Capping a meaningful experience
Jack Kent Cooke Foundation advisors and leaders, including CEO Guiseppe Basili and Natalie Rodriguez Jansorn, traveled to Nashville for Senior Symposium and for professional development led by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
"We were honored to play a role in the important mission of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation," said Mike Drish, executive director of undergraduate admissions. "Over the course of two days, we offered programming focused on selective admissions insights and tips for a valuable application essay. We really enjoyed working with their fantastic team."
Cooke scholars, meanwhile, toasted the completion of their experience with a dance party and video games in Carmichael College. "The scholars are going to take this experience with them as they become leaders on their future college campuses and go on to contribute in significant ways in whatever fields they choose," said Jansorn.
