Leah Carrillo, a rising senior at New Haven Academy, applied to the program to challenge herself, particularly in writing about and reading nonfiction, college-level material.
Her interests range from environmental science and botany to special needs teaching and dentistry, but she described a common purpose behind them.
“I’m really interested in being able to help people through the work that I do,” Carrillo said. “My big goal is to help others.”
The schedule for the summer intensive session is rigorous. Students have two 15-person seminars each morning, led by Yale faculty. Later in the day they split into smaller, five-person groups for follow-up discussions led by Yale undergraduate mentors. They confront difficult texts and are asked to write about complicated questions that have no easy answers. They meet with mentors one-on-one each evening to discuss their progress and work on their writing.
Mia Kohn, a rising senior at Yale College, helps teach and mentor students in the program. She appreciates working with students who often come from a more challenging background than hers. And she embraces the opportunity to explore her interest in teaching.
“As an undergraduate, you rarely get the chance to teach, and that I think is the best form of learning,” Kohn said. “Yesterday I gave a crash course in how to read Aristotle, and it was fascinating. And I learned so much from the students.”
In addition, Kohn said she valued the intergenerational component of the program.
“We have professors who are well into their tenured years, young professors, graduate students, undergraduate students, and high school students, which I have never seen in one environment before,” she said. “It’s wonderful.”
Citizens Thinkers Writers — along with Columbia University’s Freedom and Citizenship program — leads Knowledge for Freedom, a national network of 36 colleges and universities with similar programs serving students in their communities. In January, Yale will, for the second time, host faculty from around the country to share ideas and compare notes on what works best in their programs.
“We are thrilled to have this program and the Center for Civic Thought at the Institution for Social and Policy Studies,” said Alan Gerber, director of ISPS and Sterling Professor of Political Science. “Bryan and Stephanie showcase Yale’s longstanding commitment to our community, education, and the value of engaging with enduring questions regarding politics and society.”
On a visit to City Hall last month, the students met with New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker ’10 M.E.M./M.B.A., who told the students, “This is your house” and answered questions.
“Local politics might be where you can make a real direct difference in people’s lives,” Elicker said. “You can fix someone’s sidewalk that [they’re] tripping over every day. You can fix someone’s school.”
Elicker asked the students about their schools, and they told him about classes covered by long-term substitutes, broken bathroom locks, early start times, and leaks. He replied with explanations about budgets, taxes, state funding, and limits on what a mayor can do.
“Money is one of the biggest obstacles,” he said, adding that “what people think you can accomplish and what you can actually accomplish” are not always the same.
The discussion captured the kind of exchange Garsten and Almeida Nevin designed the program to foster. Garsten explained why they named it Citizens Thinkers Writers in that specific order.
“As a citizen, you encounter problems or questions, and then you think about them,” he said. “Writing helps you think about them more clearly. Little by little, we can communicate better and build a community together.”
