During the last school holidays Year 11 student Angus Crump (11/LE) was selected to attend the Yale Young Global Scholars Program in Applied Sciences and Engineering at Yale University.

The program ran for an action-packed two weeks that involved numerous activities that challenged students to participate lectures, seminars, discussion sections and to mingle with other students and professors from around the world. This year’s course covered topics ranging from International Security to Economics and Law. Angus gave us a snapshot of what it was like to visit and learn at one of the top universities in the world. 

I attended the Applied Science & Engineering session which is designed for students interested in the learning and application of scientific principles to solve real world problems. It was a truly revolutionary experience and I am so glad that I went. In this, I am also extremely grateful to those who helped me get there. Through YYGS, I have not only gained a vast sum of content knowledge, but more importantly, learnt many important life lessons. In reflection of my time at Yale, I have come to realise the importance of the little things in life. 

Mundanity has always been my greatest fear. I am afraid of wasting my time here on earth. I am conscious that my reality is bound by death and hence have felt pressured into success. I am in internal strife, in a battle between my grand plans and the seemingly insurmountable blockades they pose. But YYGS has provided light in this dark hole of circular reasoning.

YYGS has come to show me the importance of the little things in tackling big and small issues alike – from how to combat climate change to how to make a friend. Although the task may at first seem hard, it always starts with a simple action. You must look at the pathway that lays at your feet, and not the mountain that resides above. Climate policy change could be sparked by a simple email and a great friendship kindled from a simple “hello”. 

Prior to YYGS, I would look up to the intellectual elite as if they were the ‘untouchables’. I wanted to be one, but as the name suggests, I couldn’t get anywhere near them, let alone be a part of them. YYGS allowed for me to sit among this group of intellects, in the form of students and presenters alike. Being able to interact with such people, I could see that they too were not born into success but had to work their way up from the bottom. 

Before YYGS I felt as if I were useless – how could I succeed if I weren’t even the smartest kid in my school? This experience exposed me to so many people from so many situations, and for that, I am so grateful. The diversity of their selves and their experiences has exposed to me the non-linear path of success. I can now recognise that, although I may not yet be great, success lays before me, and all that must be done is to follow the path that lays before me, step by step.

Angus Crump (11/ LE)