“On the last day of class, our Professor had us give impromptu speeches. These speeches only had to be two minutes long and the categories were totally random. One of the prompts was about pizza for breakfast, and another one was about fighting zombies. They were hilarious and it was the best time watching my classmates walk up to the front of the classroom to their walk-up song, and give these unprepared speeches. Compared to what we usually did, which was practice and prepare before we had a speech, this was a very different task. It was really cool to see all these kids, who have only been in class together for two weeks, improve so much in confidence and performance, and connect as a class and with the professor and TA. We created a great and supportive environment throughout the session, and it was perfect to end our time with a fun, light-hearted speech.” –Elsa V., Summer ’23 CPP
“I liked the professor that taught me seminar because he made writing fun. Personally, when it comes to writing, I stress out a lot because I feel like there is a specific way I am supposed to do it and that my writing isn’t strong enough. However, my professor made it clear that the purpose of the seminar was to gain writing skills that will help us at the college level. When it came to writing essays in the class he emphasized that a draft is a dump of all of your ideas and how you shouldn’t be trying to perfect your writing in your first draft. Overall, I think he, along with the TA, did a great job of making the classroom space very welcoming, made writing more comforting, and made my CPP experience memorable.” –Saliha A., Summer ’23 CPP
“I loved not only my professor, but my class. I got to spend a lot of time drafting my college essay, and it made me feel very prepared, especially given that I am going into my junior year. In my class we wrote two essays, but this one was the most memorable. My professor gave me multiple insights and comments on multiple occasions. All of these really inspired me. He told me to dive into one specific matter, and not to touch on the surface of many. That really stuck with me, and now I’m ahead of the game with an even better draft; better than I could have imagined.” –Holly N., Summer ’23 CPP
“With my future goal of launching my own dance studio that focuses on connecting different art forms and scientific methods, I recognize that I have a long road ahead with much to learn. After taking a business leadership seminar with Professor Patton last summer, I was thrilled to become a wildcat for two more weeks this July to learn about making real-world decisions with math. Professor Cuzzocreo’s unique course was the highlight of my summer and helped me continue to round out my skill sets. Any successful entrepreneur will need to learn how to manage through a myriad of ambiguous, analytical problems with no simple “instruction manual.” This summer course armed me with principles and tools to solve real world problems as I continue to grow as a leader.” –Samantha S., Summer ’23 CPP
“During my Game Theory and Practice seminar, I had the great honor of learning from an extraordinarily knowledgeable and engaging professor, Scott Ogawa. He not only allowed me to experience a substantial increase in my understanding of the material at hand; I also felt as if he had ignited a sense of unflinching curiosity within me, creating a fervent passion to discover and analyze the world through new lenses. From reflecting on matters such as foreign policy and war to experimenting with a total ban of technology within the classroom, Professor Ogawa never failed to provide ‘golden nuggets’ of his intellectual prowess that attested to his innate inquisitiveness. I had never before met anyone in my education with such a profound characteristic, and I am eternally grateful to him for diffusing it to his students.” –Vitaly S., Summer ’23 CPP
“My overall classroom experience was amazing. The whole group was able to have great discussions, and the classwork, although challenging, was actually really fun and interesting. For my group’s final project, we chose a fact-checking site that made it difficult to answer most of the defined questions for the assignment, but I was able to connect with my professor and explain to him that I thought our site would still be valuable to the class discussion as it provided a different side of fact-checking. I loved how my group was able to go a bit off the path for the project but actually ended up presenting something really cool to the class.” –Ava M., Summer ’23 CPP
“The class was much more engaging than I thought. Although we had to cover a multitude of abstract concepts, which I failed to understand even after spending a whole night on the pre-reading papers, our teacher Professor Chung used a myriad of similes, like using a scenario of baking a cake to explain how children develop. We also looked at a lot of examples in class of babies and parenting news to applicate and consolidate our new knowledge. Most importantly, we had a lot of chances to advance in our child simulation, and discuss unique findings with our group mates.” –Henry D., Summer ’23 CPP
“My favorite project was the group presentation on why future students should take eFocus. I had so much fun brainstorming with my peers and most importantly it was the experience that bonded us the most. I was exposed to the creativity of a group member and I feel like we all learned a bit from each other. We used the lecture about persuasion to come up with the most compelling and engaging presentation we could and I liked how we got to implement what we learned in a fun way.” –Nahlia U., Summer ’23 CPP Student
“When I took AP Economics, I was repeatedly reminded of ceteris paribus. So for the Game Theory course, I expected nothing more than inapplicable, yet interesting theories. Instead, I was enlightened as to why trees continue to grow in height, why there’s a natural equilibrium for animals, and why you should always split the shared cookie in half. Game Theory and the teacher (Professor Ogawa) inspired me because they provided me a lens at which to look through life: that of rationality and how, often, people may not always act in their best interests.” –Christoph N., Summer ’23 CPP
“I really enjoyed learning about the topics ranging from astrophysics to quantum mechanics, but the best part of my experience was being able to be taught by Mr. Rivers. I looked forward to each day of class, and this was because he showed up excited to teach us about the topics, and had to focus on not going on side tangents for too long (which often lead to some of the best discussions) since there were other topics that he was equally excited to talk about.” –Summer ’23 CPP Student
“I liked how the professor taught us some activities that require students to engage actively in each class, such as discussion and presentation. Also, experimental learning allowed us to find the answer and theory ourselves. For example, outdoor learning to test if the model airfoil we have made already suits the law of physics/engineering, then after the failure, we find the root cause and try to fix it the next day. I also learned a new insight by using SolidWork. I had never heard of that application in my life previously, and it is fascinating to use for simulating an aircraft or even a spacecraft model.” –Summer ’23 CPP Student
“This course with Professor Keys was very interactive, hands-on, and productive. Although the course is only for two weeks, every session was very fruitful as not only did we get the chance to learn more conceptual theories, but we also got the chance to model using modeling software and build our own plane prototype. We also learned valuable lessons in class, such as teamwork, effective communication, and creativity while building. It was a very enjoyable and exciting experience for me, as this is the first university-like summer course I enrolled in.” –Summer ’23 CPP Student
“I enjoyed the speech giving. I was scared at first but I got to watch myself become more confident as the course progressed and it made me very happy to see how far I had come.” –Summer ’23 CPP Student
“On the fifth day of our class, our Professor shared some of his insights into the concept of personal branding. We were given the weekend to think about how we carried ourselves publicly reflected on our “brand” and our interactions with others. I had never approached my life from this vantage before, and I remember spending the whole weekend thinking and feeling like I wasn’t getting anywhere. Eventually, I just put all my thoughts, jumbled as they were, into a document. I looked back at the disorganized document and finally felt like I understood the different aspects of the brand. The assignment really pushed me to think in a different way, and I’m grateful my professor put me in a position where I had to act creatively.” –Conor M., Summer ’23 CPP