Summer Endeavors: Living Out a Political Science and Connecticut-Based Dream
Our latest look at mission-driven summers — which kicked off in September with a pair of alumni adventures — takes us to the Nutmeg State, where Kai Forbach ’26 found the perfect program, and place, to nurture his globalist inclinations.
By Kai Forbach ’26
3-minute read
I’ve been a Yale fanboy pretty much since the day I was born. I’ve also been an avid political science and policy nerd ever since I got to the Upper School at Durham Academy and fell in love with the DA Speech & Debate team. During my ninth-grade year, I gave a speech about El Salvador’s Bitcoin bonds. That topic really opened my eyes to how complex and fascinating global events can be.
So when my mom told me about a program called Yale Young Global Scholars (YYGS) — through which high school students from around the world live on Yale University’s campus and study global events for two weeks — it sounded like a dream. This summer, I lived it.
There were four different courses of study for students with different interests, but — naturally — I was most excited about the Politics, Law and Economics (PLE) curriculum. Getting into the program would be no easy task. I understood that my odds of getting in were slim, but the program enraptured me. My college counselor, Mr. [Christopher] Briggs, helped me plan my application, and my speech coach, Ms. [Rachel] Mauchline, wrote me a generous letter of recommendation. Eventually, I clicked “submit,” and waited for five months with bated breath. To my delight, I got in.
So, in July, I found myself on a plane to New Haven, Connecticut. I was hardly alone as an out-of-towner! YYGS prides itself on fostering a global community, and it accordingly attracts students from more than 150 different countries. This made me a bit nervous: I didn’t think I was up to the task of contending with the best and brightest high schoolers from around the globe. Luckily, my preconceived notions of YYGS immediately proved false.
After a brief introductory talk outlining the rules and schedule, most of the students found themselves wandering into the game room at Davenport College, one of Yale’s 14 residential halls. There, I swapped stories of home with people who had come from continents away, gaining insights that books and news articles could never provide. Far from my fears of contending with my global peers, YYGS fostered an environment where I could learn from people around the world — and see how their homelands and experiences shaped their beliefs.
I listened to a Russian immigrant tell me how his family’s experiences under the Communist Soviet Union shaped his libertarian views. I discussed the future of U.S.-Mexico relations with a Mexican citizen. I exchanged views about Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, with a group of Indian students. To help facilitate conversations, the instructors divided us up into advisory groups that we stayed with for the whole two-week program. At the end of each day, my advisory group would talk about what we had learned, which was a great way to process all the knowledge we had gained.
One of the main ways we gained knowledge was through college-level lectures, which were taught by guest speakers and Yale professors. And one lecture in particular really stuck with me and changed my worldview. Daniel Markovits, a Yale alumnus and a professor at Yale Law School, explained how for most of human history, humans operated with the goal of having enough to survive. Around two and a half centuries ago, the paradigm shifted toward “acquisition,” and suddenly people started trying to accrue wealth for its own sake. That paradigm shift exponentially increased the human population and global resources available, but now that paradigm has become unsustainable — and pursuing wealth for the sake of wealth harms one’s self-fulfillment and leads to an unsustainable future. Of course, there is so much more to explore with this concept — the lecturer is writing a whole book on it! — but I’m thankful to have been exposed to such enlightening ideas.
Beyond academics and study, living on Yale’s campus was a treat. We ate delicious food from the dining hall every day, lived in the comfortable and architecturally impressive residential colleges and got a taste of the beautiful city of New Haven.
I couldn’t have asked for a more memorable — or dreamlike — summer experience.
I highly encourage my peers to apply to YYGS! The application is competitive, but need-based financial aid is available. With four different courses of study, STEM enthusiasts and literature and philosophy junkies can enjoy YYGS just as much as a political science devotee like me. Best of luck to anyone who applies; feel free to ask me for help with the application process; and I hope you enjoy Yale as much as I did!