Meet the students staying at Harvard over the summer
‘It’s such an unforgettable experience’
Every summer through the Department of Continuing Education, Harvard opens its doors, and for seven weeks students from all over the world get a chance to experience a piece of what we take for granted everyday.
Having such an international crowd brings unique characters to campus: some are professionals looking to advance their business while others are high school students looking to get a feel of the Crimson life. No matter what their reason they all share one thing in common, they all decided to spend their summer studying. So we thought we’d introduce you to a few of the amazing people that make up Harvard’s Summer School.
Yuichi Kurosaki, student from The University of Tokyo
Yuichi, far right
What are you studying here?
The Management course: Judgement and Decision Making, and the Art course, Performing Musical Theater.
What do you hope to gain from your studies?
How to make the best decision in every situation, especially in business insights into the fields of stage arts, and how people can move and connect with others verbally/nonverbally.
How did you hear about the summer school?
Many intelligent and cool students gather from all over the world here.
What is your favorite thing about Harvard?
Cool friends, comfortable libraries.
What is your least favorite thing?
To think that these amazing days will be over soon.
What was your most memorable moment this summer?
Red Sox’s victory against San Francisco Giants in Fenway Park.
Nikhil Bhambra, from Toronto, currently in high school
Nikhil is second from the right
What are you studying here?
Law and Psychology, Introduction to Political Philosophy.
What do you hope to gain from your studies?
Being a high school student, I hoped to gain valuable experience in living by myself in an academic environment. Both of my classes are not offered in any form in my school so exposure to Philosophy, Politics and Law are all valuable in helping me decide what I want to do post-secondary.
How did you hear about the summer school?
My brother also went to SSP and as a result I’ve been looking forward to coming here for years.
What is your favorite thing about Harvard?
It’s gonna sound cliché, but the freedom and responsibility. Being able to live on campus and be fully autonomous is refreshing. The people here are great too, if not overwhelming with the interesting stories they have.
What is your least favorite thing?
Annenberg. If there wasn’t free coffee I would never go.
What was your most memorable moment this summer?
Kayaking on the Charles River with my roommates and 5am trips to Boston to catch Pokémon are tied.
Yu Urano, student from the University of Tokyo
Yu at a cake making event hosted by HUDS for the summer school
What are you studying here?
Globalization and International Politics.
What do you hope to gain from your studies?
Reading various books, and discussing them with competitive classmates, I hope to acquire my own perspective towards the world, which will surely help me to have foresight of the future.
How did you hear about the summer school?
I was in a research program in my university, and the professors suggested several choices for us to study abroad in order to get broader view and useful knowledge for the research. I believe I could achieve the goal here in this sense.
What is your favorite thing about Harvard?
The academic attitude that lets students acquire not only knowledge but also ways of thinking, which are applicable for unknown issues.
What is your least favorite thing?
That my dorm has many rats. Real Pokémon Go.
What was your most memorable moment this summer?
The baseball game we watched at Fenway Park! Red Sox won with five homers and that was definitely the best MLB game ever I watched.
Jaechan Koo, from Seoul, student at The Catholic University of Korea
Jaechan is on the bottom left
What are you studying here?
I’m taking two courses here. One is Performing Musical Theater, in the Drama department. The other one is Judgment and Decision Making, in the Management department.
What do you hope to gain from your studies?
Since I am a medical student, I sincerely hope that I would earn some decision making tools and criteria from the course, which would prevent me from making bad decisions in many urgent situations. For the musical class, I really love the warm, family-like hospitality within the class. It helps me improve English delivery and expressivity, which are crucial factors in successful public speaking.
How did you hear about the summer school?
Harvard is so well-known, all over the world, especially in Korea. I often hear Korean in the yard, since many Koreans are paying a visit to Harvard as part of their tour. Luckily, I received a scholarship from my original college to attend summer schools in the US, and definitely my best choice was Harvard.
What is your favorite thing about Harvard?
I really love the atmosphere. Beautiful layout of the campus, pleasant weather, gentle neighborhood, and sweet people above everything else. It was so inspiring to spend this summer with such awesome friends. You all motivate me to be better.
What is your least favorite thing?
Since the Pfoho dining hall is closed during summer, I have to go all the way to Annenberg to get some foods. I barely have had breakfast this summer!
What was your most memorable moment this summer?
I went to Charles River esplanade with some of my friends from Summer School, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We canoed there enjoying the sunset, and it was such an unforgettable experience.
Well there it is, the overall general consensus seems to be that a summer at Harvard is one to be remembered. Except for the food at Annenberg. That’s something that we can all do without.