When this
whole trip began on the thirtieth of July, I knew it was going to be amazing.
But I didn’t know how amazing it would be. It was only nineteen days that I was
away, and yet I would do and see more in those nineteen days than I’ve ever
done seen before. My trip to China in the spring of 2012 is the only thing that
comes close to this experience. I learned so much about the world we live in
through the classes, seminars, and the people from over forty five different
countries that I got to talk to. If I had to do it all again, I would without
any hesitation. I wonder how different my time would have been had I not gone.
Even if my time could have been spent relaxing or working on my common application
for college, I am happy that I spent it at Yale University. I would just like
to take a brief moment to thank Don Gosney, Madeline Kronenberg, Charles
Ramsey, the sponsors of the Ivy League Connection, my parents, and finally the
Yale Young Global Scholars Program itself for having me. It has been, in a
word, a blast.
When I
reflect on the program as a whole, I cannot find one bad part. The time before
the program was good, as was the relaxation afterwards. The program itself was
phenomenal. I continue to say that I learned so much to my friends and family,
but that is exactly what happened. The classes were on the Trojan War, global
warming, constitutional law, and the Civil Rights movement, to name just a few.
I will go into more detail later in this blog.
In
thirteen days I took forty hours of classes. In the average semester at my high
school, in which I also take college classes, the hours in each class are about
fifty two. We were only twelve hours away from a full semester, and a full
semester is about four months. But it was worth every second. Such great
speakers as John Negroponte, Harold Koh, John Gaddis, Ian Shapiro, and Paul
Kennedy would serenade our ears with fantastic lectures that must be heard to
be believed. Each one was not a lecture so much as we think of it, with a
professor droning on and on in one long and hypnotic sentence. It was instead a
great presentation on topics and issues that really hit home with their
relevance.
Then
there were the seminars. Each one seemed to be better than the last and covered
topics like nuclear security dilemmas, the ethics and legality of drone
strikes, and the nature of revolution. Each seminar instructor asked us
questions that really vexed us and made us think of how one thing might affect
another. The instructors were well versed in whatever the seminar was about
even if it wasn’t their subject. Not to mention that they often found holes in
our logic when we were arguing our point and were subsequently shut down. We
had to make sure we plugged the holes, but this would prepare us very well for
our Marshall Brief presentations, which I will go into detail in just a minute.
The reading for the seminars was mostly interesting but could, at times, be
extremely dry because it was written in an eighteenth century writing style
with a lot of flowery language or because there were just too many figures as
statistics. But overall, I loved each one.
Now, let
me explain what a Marshall Brief is. The Marshall Brief is basically a four to
five thousand word report that addresses a problem and then outlines a plan of
action for this problem. For each Marshall Brief, the person writing it must be
very precise and use as many facts and statistics to back up their claims as
much as they can in the word count allotted. Then, the person or people who
wrote this Marshall Brief must present this problem and plan to a board of
directors who has some sway and can support the solution. For example, a person
who created a Marshall Brief on the human rights abuses in factories in China
may attempt to sway the UN board on human rights to follow their plan of
action. But the board, often referred to as “the murder board” pokes holes and
finds problems with any and all solutions you propose, questions where you got
your sources, and asks questions that you may not have thought of when writing
your Marshall Brief. They were daunting but we hurdled everything we had at
them to make sure our plans were put into action. We were each put into groups
with a specific broad title, like “The Rise of Military and Economic Powers,”
or “Global Financial Recovery.” Most groups didn’t know where to start, but
thankfully our policy group leaders, the same people who taught some of the
seminars, were in charge of helping. Our leader, Jordan Cohen, is a very smart
and nice man who was more than happy to help and offered great advice. All in
all, the Marshall Brief was hard but it brought it the hardest research and
leadership skills in all of us and will not only help us in the academic world,
but when we are participating in our community.
One final
aspect of this world class program was the simulation. The simulation happened
over the tenth and the eleventh and was, in my opinion, the most fun and
interactive part of the entire program this summer. After a lecture that we had
earlier in the day, we were briefed on what the simulation actually is. It is
as follows: The scenario is that there is going to be an international summit
by the UN, EU, US, Iran, Russia, China, and Brazil. There are also a number of
NGO’s, or non-government organizations, like Human Rights Watch and Doctors
Without Borders. There are also companies, like Apple and GlaxoSmithKline.
Then, everyone was assigned to one of the groups and our goal for the summit
was announced: Limit the proliferation of biological and chemical weapons. Each
government, NGO, or company then had its own goal that it had to achieve.
Apple, for example, had to finalize a deal with Lockheed-Martin and then make
millions selling biological and chemical weapons through any means while the US
wanted to stop the spread of these weapons and then but make sure that its own
goals are met as well, like having more political power in the international
arena. But throughout the simulation, wrenches were thrown in to see how people
would respond. For example, at one point a Russian nuclear submarine was
captured and detained by Iran and both groups had to figure out what to do.
Another example is that a plague broke out in Brazil and quickly spread, and
then every nation had to determine what to do about it. It was fun and
stressful, because I was assigned to Human Rights Watch, which had little to no
respect and political clout so achieving our end goal was very difficult.
This
covers all of the major subjects that we went over while in the program. The
trip itself, visiting the colleges, and seeing everything new and fresh for the
first time is priceless. New York University, Brown, and Harvard were all
universities that looked amazing and I want to apply to all three.
I would
also just like to say thank you for reading my blogs and letting me share my
experience with you. I have had the time of my life, and if I had to do it
again, I would. The people, the places, the food, the classes, the reading, and
the campus are just a small sliver of what my trip was all about. To anyone who
wants to join the ILC, I highly suggest that you do. It has changed me in a way
that makes me more confident, humble, and smarter. I now know more about
politics and how the world works then I did before.
Just as Malvolio in Shakespeare’s play Twelfth Night says, “Some
are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon
them.” Through the Ivy League Connection, I had the honor to meet people who were
born great, who achieved greatness, and who had greatness thrust upon them. I
feel like I had greatness thrust upon me and am so thankful that I did because
now I know my full potential. Thank you again, and goodbye.
