BRATTLEBORO — On a recent hot and sunny afternoon, regional high school students attending the Governor's Institutes of Vermont gathered for lunch at the SIT Graduate Institute, School for International Training.
They'd already had a busy day attending group discussions on suicide prevention and other personal issues. This was a needed break before they'd press on with sessions and discussion on global issues.
The students were part of a statewide program, hosted during the summer and winter, that facilitates study in a variety of fields. Running five to 12 days, these programs give students a taste of subjects they might not normally encounter in high school.
In Burlington, the Asian Cultures Institute was held at the University of Vermont; in Castleton, an Art Institute was held at Castleton State College.
This was the Current Issues and Youth Activism Institute in Brattleboro. Designed to educate Vermont students on current events, the program also encourages youth to work together to identify and help solve social problems.
Approximately 60 students were part of this program, where they bunked on campus at the School for International Training for a taste of college life.
Grouped with counselors - SIT staff and graduates - these same students would go on to take part in the program's tradition of closing out the Brattleboro's Fourth of July parade.
At the parade, according to Karen Mitchell, the institute's executive director, participating students carry their own sign about an issue that they feel passionate about. Although these messages differ, the students are united.
Mitchell explained that the Institutes are available to all Vermont high school students. There are misconceptions that the program is expressly for particularly gifted students, or students from wealthy familes: This couldn't be further from the truth, she said.
Any student interested in the program can register for it, and due to its unique funding method, generous financial aid is available. Some students pay as little as $10 in tuition.
Passion matters
Students wrapped up lunch and set out for the afternoon's presentations.
Many, like Hawley Snipp from Morrisville High School, said that they were recommended to the program by guidance counselors or teachers.
Hearing from experts on tar-sands oil mining and Pakistani politics, students such as Rosie of Brattleboro Union High School later said the passion of the presenters was meaningful to them.
In contrast to curriculum delivered at school, these presentations are delivered by people who are intimately involved in or affected by the issue. For example, the Pakistan presentation was delivered by a Pakistan-American, the son of an SIT educator.
Students here were engaged and curious. They saw pictures of forests devastated in Canada to make way for an oil pipeline, and pictures of Pakistani soldiers fighting in Kashmir.
Following the Pakistan presentation, students discussed what they would do to end Pakistan's conflicts with India, were they the policymakers.
Later, the students were quick to say what they took from the program.
Elias Wymcoop of Middlebury High, and Tatum MacBride both talked about how much fun they had in getting to know people and making friends from all over the state.
Another student, Katie, talked about rooming with students from Ireland, just a small part of a number of international students also at SIT who were there for other programs.
Perhaps the greatest lesson that these students learned, as offered by Krista Ali and agreed by many, was the value in learning how to help others and change the future so kids everywhere can avoid horrible situations their parents and grandparents have had to live through.
As Mitchell said, the idea behind the program is to educate students and help them connect with purpose. They aren't overwhelmed by grim facts. Rather, they feel emboldened and empowered by them, and emerge ready to do something unique to help make the world a better place.
John Ungerleider, an educator at SIT and the founder of the Youth Activism Institute, explained that of approximately 20 Governor's Institutes around the country, Vermont's is the most successful in funding and student engagement.
In a recent survey of institute graduates, 80 percent were found to have increased their academic focus after the experience. Eighty-six percent reported an increase in self-confidence, Ungerleider said.