Our Boston program is a little different where we leverage the city of Boston and all of its resources. Classes are located at nearby universities such as MIT, Harvard, Simmons, or other elite locations. No matter the course, you’ll experience a buzzing campus filled with fellow bright, ambitious, energetic students.

See below for more information on the Summer Springboard instructors in Boston!

Business & Entrepreneurship

Dr. Michellana Jester, MIT

Michellana Jester is a Lecturer and GLab Course Manager at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She is responsible for leading the design and delivery of MIT Sloan’s largest project-based course, as well as supporting teams of student entrepreneurs around the world. Michellana has a master’s degree from Harvard University and a doctorate from Columbia University. 

Emergency Medicine

Dr. Enrique Valdespino, Doctors Without Borders

Most recently, Dr. Valdespino has been recruited by Doctors Without Borders to provide medical care where it is most needed, and is awaiting mission placement. Dr. Valdespino graduated from Harvard Medical School with a Master of Medical Sciences in Global Health Delivery. Prior to Harvard, Enrique worked as a physician with Compañeros en Salud México (CES), a sister organization of Partners in Health, after he completed his medical training. At CES he worked as a Regional Supervisor to support primary care physicians in charge of rural clinics in non-accessible areas. In this role, he addressed challenges in regards to medical care delivery, clinic management, and community relations.

Finance & Investing

Stephen Maloney, Northeastern University

Stephen Maloney has served in global executive roles in risk management at Moody’s Analytics, Willis Towers Watson, Accenture, Risk Capital LLC, and Pace Global Energy (a Siemens company) providing risk and financial technology and advisory services. His expertise encompasses insurance, banking, and commodity supply chain risk management. He is experienced in remote sensing and satellite imaging of supply chains, econophysics, thinly traded and illiquid assets, alternative investments, large project finance, catastrophe bonds, climate models and atmospheric physics, and carbon pricing. Mr. Maloney has an MS Applied Physics from The Johns Hopkins University, an MS Operations Research from Northeastern University, and BS Physics and BS Mathematics degrees from New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering. He also earned a Professional Engineer’s license, and served as a commissioned officer in the US Navy nuclear propulsion program where he qualified Chief Engineer.

Psychology & Neuroscience

Adam Morris, Harvard University

Adam Morris is a Ph.D. candidate and instructor in psychology at Harvard University. He received his B.S. in psychology from Brown University, where he graduated magna cum laude with honors. Adam specializes in social-emotional learning. Most of us spend decades of our life in school, and yet we are never taught the most meaningful thing: how to be with other people, in a healthy and fulfilling way. Adam seeks to understand the social-emotional skills that support a deep and nourishing social life, and to help people develop those skills. Adam has received numerous awards for his research and teaching, including the prestigious National Defense Science and Engineering Fellowship and the George W. Goethals Teaching Prize.

Trial Law

George Muksian, Wesleyan University

George Muksian combines a lifetime of courtroom experience with teaching experience at some of the nation’s top universities. He has worked as a criminal defense lawyer and prosecutor for many years, as well as having tried many cases in the Rhode Island and Massachusetts trial courts. George has also been a law lecturer at Tufts University, Johnson & Wales University and other universities. He holds degrees from Harvard University (Ed.M), Suffolk University (J.D.), Wesleyan University (M.A.), and Providence College (B.A.).

Fundamentals of Engineering

Dr. Joshua Ramos, MIT

Dr. Joshua Ramos is a Lecturer and Design Education Practitioner in the Mechanical Engineering department at MIT. As a design educator, he is at the intersection of engineering, education, and digital media. Through the use of active learning, he creates rich in-classroom learning experiences that utilize hands-on activities that give students a chance to practice and explore while they learn. Josh also supports authentic project-based learning for mechanical engineering students learning product design. In addition to hands-on educational experiences, his past research has explored the use of digital media, delivered through the Internet, to enhance both residential and remote hands-on learning environments. Josh received his SB, MS, and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at MIT.

The post Meet our Instructors in Boston appeared first on Summer Springboard.

See below for more information on the Summer Springboard instructors in Los Angeles!

Biology & Medicine

Krista McCutcheon, M.Sc.

Krista has been working as a professional drug hunter in the San Francisco Bay area for over 20 years. She is a co-inventor on drug patents in diverse therapeutic areas, including inflammation, angiogenesis, cancer, immuno-oncology, and infectious disease. Her collaborative research in industry and academia has led to scientific publications of new biological insights into disease, drug mechanisms of action, and state-of-the-art methods and technologies. Krista holds an M.Sc. in Neuroscience and a B.Sc. in Biochemistry and Genetic Engineering. 

Business & Entrepreneurship

Dr. Laura Manyweather, Ed.D., MBA

Dr. Laura Manyweather is a college professor and consultant. Laura specializes in program, fund, and non-profit development. With 29 years of experience with private corporations and 12 years in academia, she brings systems, processes and organizational structure to small and micro businesses, in order for them to thrive in an ever-changing economic environment. In addition Dr. Laura Manyweather also shows positivity, inclusiveness, emotional intelligence and restorative leadership skills to organizations. Presently, she teaches business courses to emerging leaders and aspiring business owners. Dr. Manyweather’s teaching style and approach to Adult Learning is innovative and intuitive. Dr. Laura Manyweather received an award and was recognized as a Women of Influence (WOI) in 2018. She served as the President of the National Association of Professional Women (NAPW), Gardena Chapter (2009-2013).

Computer Science

Dr. Ramin Ramezani

Dr. Ramin Ramezani is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Computer Science and a Research Scientist at the Center for Smart Health, UCLA. He is also a Managing Technical Director at Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) within David Geffen School of Medicine. He was formerly the Chief Technologist in the Big Data and Analytical Unit within the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London. His research is focused on employing various engineering techniques to tackle problems that arise in the medical domain, primarily, with focus on improving quality of care, personalized care and early disease detection.

Emergency Medicine

Violet Bagni

Violet Bagni is an EMT Clinical Instructor at UCLA where she teaches the fundamentals of emergency medicine; including the proper care and transportation of the sick and injured patients. Violet has 20 years of experience working in a fast-paced environment and educating her team members and nurses in emergency technical procedures, skill reviews, and up to date patient care treatment. Violet is also a member of the Henry Mayo Emergency Room Management Team.

Filmmaking

Matt Miller, BA

Matt is an adventure photographer and videographer from Tennessee, currently working in San Diego and LA. Matt’s story starts with his parents who encouraged him to see the world through the eyes of an artist and he quickly developed an intense appreciation of the visual arts. Matt is a motivated videographer and video editor with skills that include planning/storyboarding, directing, shooting, and bringing it all together with technical & motion graphic editing. He is highly trained in the CC Adobe Suite, with a focus on Premiere Pro, After Effects, Illustrator, and Photoshop.

Fundamentals of Engineering

Artin Davidian, MS

Artin Davidian is an engineering professor with over 15 years of teaching experience in the Greater Los Angeles area. With a focus on design, rehabilitation engineering, and project management, Artin has a passion for teaching engineering and technology courses to both college and high school students. He received his Bachelor’s and Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from California State University, Los Angeles.

Psychology & Neuroscience

Alysia Burbidge, Ph.D. Candidate

Alysia Burbidge is a Ph.D. candidate in social psychology at University of Southern California. Her research focuses on motivation, social class, and identity. She is currently looking at how we can use identity-based motivation to better understand and improve academic goal-setting and goal-attainment for minoritized and economically disenfranchised students. She is also examining how conceptual metaphors of social class and politics interplay in our perceptions of the socioeconomically disadvantaged. She uses a variety of approaches, include experimental methods, multilevel modeling, text analysis, and real-world intervention work, to examine these questions. Prior to USC, Alysia received her Psychology B.S. from the University of California, Riverside.

The post Meet our Instructors in Los Angeles appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Summer Springboard combines academic immersion with hands-on learning, career exploration, and college prep on the campuses of top American universities.

UC Berkeley

Late June: June 20-July 2, 2021

Early July: July 4-July 16, 2021

Late July: July 18-July 30, 2021

Yale University

Late June: June 20-July 2, 2021

Early July: July 4-July 16, 2021

Late July: July 18-July 30, 2021

Georgetown University

Late July: July 25-August 6, 2021

Boston

Late June: June 27-July 9, 2021

Early July: July 11-July 23, 2021

Late July: July 25-August 6, 2021

UC San Diego

Late June: June 27-July 9, 2021

Early July: July 11-July 23, 2021

Late July: July 25-August 6, 2021

The post Start Planning for 2021 appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Summer Springboard offers many academic courses, two of which include Global Health and Medicine. As an alumni of the Global Health course, I am going to highlight the main differences between the two academic courses and who they might appeal to.

Global Health Overview

In the Global Health course, you explore a wide variety of topics related to the field, including epidemiology, determinants of health, and health communication. Our instructor, Laura Rapoport, a Harvard graduate in the field of Public Health, was incredibly informed on the topic and engaged us in many activities. We discussed case studies, did outbreak investigations, talked about how we can help prevent epidemics today, and worked on many projects. We also went on an excursion to a Public Health Lab, which was fascinating. We were able to tour the facility, talk with a professional, and ask many questions, and see the lab workers investigate diseases. It was truly an unforgettable experience!

The Global Health course is geared more towards looking at diseases and epidemics around the world as a whole, along with how issues such as poverty, gender, climate, and more affect people’s health. If you have any interest in how epidemics such as the flu, measles, smallpox, ebola, and more spread and the steps that we can take to help prevent these outbreaks, then the Global Health course is definitely for you! Where the Medicine course focuses more on modern medicine, the Global Health course focuses more on health on a larger scale. It is truly a fascinating subject to explore!

Medicine Overview

As an alumni of the Global Health course, I don’t have direct experience with the Medicine course. However, my roommate from SSB participated in the track and was willing to share her experience! Here is alumni Michelle Jiang’s experience with the Medicine course.

Every day from 9 am to 12 pm, my classmates and I would walk to our classrooms (which were fairly close to our dorms). Our instructors Dr. Carol Chen and Dr. Andrea Tenner were incredibly knowledgeable about the topics we were supposed to be taught during the two-week period. I am eternally grateful for the time they decided to sacrifice for us students, but even so, they were incredibly patient and kind to us. There was never a boring day under their instruction! 

During the course, we experienced hands-on activities such as suturing or measuring one’s blood pressure; we even had the opportunity to simulate a mass casualty incident and triage patients who pretended to be injured. The activities we participated in were incredibly realistic and gave us a sense of what it was like to be in an actual emergency. Moreover, we were not only limited to learning about emergency medical care. Summer Springboard allows students in the medicine course to learn about multiple different fields of medicine, including emergency medicine, pathology, and surgery. 

As a student in the medicine course, we were able to experience two different excursions to hospitals in San Francisco. During the first excursion, we were able to perform CPR in a simulation and diagnose heart and lung diseases using stethoscopes. It was a privilege to experience hands-on activities that a regular high schooler would not be able to do. During the second excursion, Dr. Chen and Dr. Tenner gave us a tour of a hospital where we were able to see live patients getting treated (without interrupting their privacy!) This field trip allowed us to view the regular working environment of a doctor’s. 

Overall, my experience under Summer Springboard’s medicine course is one that I will never forget, and if possible, I would love to experience it again!

Why would a student choose Global Health over Medicine?

Both tracks provide an in-depth exploration of certain aspects of the medicine/healthcare field. The Global Health course is more for students interested in health on a large scale, and interested in the spread of disease and how we can prevent it. It is a great starting point for those who are interested in the health field, but don’t want to become a doctor specifically; this was true for my situation! It’s an incredibly interesting field and provides many opportunities to travel the world and help those in poverty and in need of healthcare.

I hope this blog helped guide you in your track decision! Feel free to reach out to me – laedawes@gmail.com – if you have any questions about the Global Health course and my experience!

Lillie Dawes is one of Summer Springboard’s new marketing interns. She currently attends Haas Hall Academy in Rogers, Arkansas. She attended Summer Springboard at UC Berkeley last summer and participated in the Global Health track. She hopes to use the skills and knowledge she received to someday make a difference in the world. Feel free to reach out @lillie.dawes

The post Course Comparison – Global Health vs Medicine appeared first on Summer Springboard.

As a kid, I always loved storytelling. I remember asking for notebooks and pens and new books instead of new video games as a kid because for me those things we a million times more interesting than anything I could ever see or do on a screen. I grew up loving words, I learned to type by writing up my stories on Google Drive and took inspiration for my worlds from those that  I experienced through other books. However, once I hit middle school, I felt a disconnect occur between me and language. I no longer spent my free time writing up tales I had dreamed of or reading as many books as I had before. I missed it but for some reason, I just couldn’t find time to work it into my schedule. This continued for around four years, so when making plans for Summer 2019 I decided to set aside some specific time to work on my writing.

I only typed five words into Google “creative writing Yale summer program” and the first website that popped up was Summer Springboard’s. I clicked on it and immediately knew that it would be perfect for me. I would have the opportunity to live pretty independently on one of my favorite college campuses, I would get to meet new people, and most importantly of all, I would have three hours a day for ten days to just work on my writing, and not just doing it actively improving it and learning from my peers and teacher. Needless to say, I signed up and it has been one of the best things that I have done both for myself as a writer and a person.

Overview

Every morning we would walk into this classroom with a big round table in the middle and take a seat. A prompt would be up on the board to get our creative juices flowing, and after around ten minutes of writing, we would go around the table and share what he had written during that time. Sharing writing, especially when it feels personal can be incredibly difficult it can feel like sharing a piece of you. But we each did this, first to strangers, then as we got to know each other better acquaintances, then by the end of the session friends. I personally have always struggled with sharing my work, I always worry that it may not be good enough, or other people will judge me for what I had written. I don’t think my parents have even read some of my work. But the open nature of the classroom, the intimacy of the round table, the common love of words fostered an environment where I didn’t feel so uncomfortable. In fact, it was the opposite. I loved hearing the feedback of my peers and teacher so I could improve. It was an especially good feeling when I wrote something that I was incredibly proud of and shared it. And the environment that helped my self-confidence as a writer grow made me want to sign up for the creative writing at my school, which I now take. 

Program Details

However, the nurturing setting the class provided me wasn’t the only thing that helped me advance, the exercises and speakers we had each provided a different lesson about writing, different ways it could be used, different forms it could take, the different styles. We listened to poetry and wrote it, watched ads to help us see how storytelling was used not just in literature but the “real world” as well, and met authors who had published their work. I felt my horizons broadening as I learned and experienced each of these things and I felt new skills develop as I took part in the program. One of my favorite openers was called “exploding a moment”. We wrote a simple sentence, mine was “I sat at the bottom of the pool” and our job was to add adjectives and descriptions to make the reader feel like they were physically there, with our character both physically and mentally. 

Capstone Project

So my broad ordinary sentence “I sat at the bottom of the pool” turned into

“I sank, like a stone in water to the cold concrete bottom of the pool. The quiet sound of nothingness was peaceful, almost eerie but I found solace in it.  I was in my own secret little work, my own bubble. I stared up at the bright rays of sunlight streaming through the water refracting and dancing just like my physics teacher had taught. The under-surface of the water was so delicate it reminded me of my father’s crystal tiffany scotch glasses. The ones that looked like pieces of a deadly rainbow after he threw it at the wall filled with artwork my mother collected. Unlike those shards, it looked so untouched, glassy, and pure. This is what it must be like inside the glass enclosures you see in aquariums, I thought. Except, unlike the animals trapped in their own habitats I was free to break through my glass anytime I wanted, and come up for air.”

Key Takeaway

The paragraph above is still one of my favorite things that I have ever written, and I have taken this method with me, using it in the writing I am working on now. The creative writing program helped me so much, I grew in my abilities as a writer as well as my self-confidence, and I am so grateful I got the experience to attend Summer Springboard.

Maris Brail is one of Summer Springboard’s new marketing interns. She is in 10th grade at @gannacademy and is a member of the dance company, junior varsity soccer team, and theater. On the weekends, she volunteers and teachers swim lessons at her local pool. Maris attended the Creative writing program at Yale, and fell in love with both the stunning campus and the great community at SSB. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to her on Instagram @maris_brail. 

The post My Personal Experience with the Creative Writing Program appeared first on Summer Springboard.

My name is Maris and last summer I attended the creative writing program at Yale with Summer Springboard. As someone who has gone to summer camp for over six years, I can definitively say that this has been one of the most positive summer experiences I have ever had. The people, the programs, the staff, and the field trips all contributed to this. 

Campus Life

The rooming situation at Yale is unique, with single and double rooms all surrounding one large common room. Although I had a single room, I bonded and became incredibly close with my dorm-mates. Every night, we would stay up late just talking and getting to know each other talking about our experiences and interests. Within a few days, I knew that I had made true friends that I could rely on. But I didn’t just become close with those in my dorm. I made amazing friends in my writing class, my “family group”(a group of around nine kids assigned to one staff who do activities together) and by just talking to those around me. This program gave me the opportunity to meet people from different cities, states, and even countries and create everlasting connections with them in just two weeks. 

Academic Track

As a student who does multiple athletic and art activities, I don’t have very much time to just focus on my creative writing, and do it for fun. However, the writing program at Summer Springboard gave me an opportunity to focus and grow in my writing with the help of the talented, qualified instructor and supportive classroom environment. Furthermore, each program has specific field trips to reinforce the learning they are doing inside the classroom. The creative writing group went to Mark Twain’s house and got the opportunity to explore the Story Cottage, a small house with book-themed rooms where were heard from a published mystery author. Each track has a field trip similar to this, the global medicine track visited a simulation center where they could practice and apply the skills they had been learned, the law program went to the New Haven courthouse and watched a trial. These field trips gave us the opportunity to see the concepts we had been learning about take place in real life. 

Key Takeaway

I would definitely recommend applying and attending Summer Springboard, so you can explore the college campus of your choice, study one of your interests, and meet incredible new people.

Maris Brail is one of Summer Springboard’s new marketing interns. She is in 10th grade at @gannacademy and is a member of the dance company, junior varsity soccer team, and theater. On the weekends, she volunteers and teachers swim lessons at her local pool. Maris attended the Creative writing program at Yale, and fell in love with both the stunning campus and the great community at SSB. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to her on Instagram @maris_brail. 

The post My Summer Springboard Experience appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Cal Poly has earned its recognition through its unique Learn by Doing philosophy.

Learn by Doing is a deliberate process whereby students acquire knowledge and skills through active engagement. Classes emphasize active-learning methods and include a high proportion of laboratory and field work. Activities both on and off campus provide opportunities to apply classroom theory to real-world solutions.

See below for more information on the instructors at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo:

Artificial Intelligence & Robotics

Bo Lui, Ph.D.

Dr. Bo Liu is an associate professor in BioResource and Agricultural Engineering Department at Cal Poly State University. He received his doctoral and master’s degree from the University of Missouri – Columbia. He teaches coursework in the areas of electronics, sensors, data acquisition systems, and robotics, and conducts research in artificial intelligence and mechatronics applications in agricultural production and processing. His research projects have been funded by private companies, state and federal agencies. He has been invited to present research projects at various universities, national and international conferences.

Biology & Medicine

Michele Roest, MS

Michele Roest is a lecturer in the Biological Sciences Department at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. Michele has Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in biological sciences. She has been a curriculum developer for K-12 and college-level biology instructor for more than twenty years. Michele is passionate about biology and enjoys sharing her knowledge with others.

Civil Engineering

Eric Kaspar, Ph.D.

Eric P. Kasper received his Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley in 1997 and is a professor within the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at California Polytechnic State University. In addition to teaching courses in structural engineering Professor Kasper has served for many years as a co-advisor to the nationally ranked Civil Engineering club on campus and also serves as co-advisor to the award winning Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge teams. To bring real life experience and case studies to the classroom, Dr. Kasper also works as a consultant for companies throughout the world.

Graphic Design

Xiaoying Rong, Ph.D.

Dr. Xiaoying Rong’s main teaching activities include Interactive Product Development, Consumer Packaging, and Specialty Printing Technology courses at Cal Poly. She has been teaching in Graphic Communication Department since 2005. Her research interests include interactive product design, product development, disruptive technologies and specialty printing for marketing.

Mechnical Engineering

Ashraf Elbarbary, Ph.D.

Dr. Ashraf Elbarbary received his Masters degree in Aerospace Engineering and a PhD in Mechanical Design Engineering. His studies have focused on the field of control of mechanical vibrations of rotating shafts by using magnetic bearing. Dr. Elbarbary has worked on research projects in the following fields: propulsion systems for satellites, seawater desalination, and design of recycling machines for nonhazardous waste. He is currently a Scholar Visitor and Lecturer at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo

Psychology of Social Media

Kevin Houser, Ph.D.

Kevin is a full time instructor in the philosophy department at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He received my Ph.D. in philosophy from Indiana University, Bloomington, November of 2015. His research interests include ethics/moral philosophy, empathy and moral emotions, epistemology, Kant’s ethics, and the work of Emmanuel Levinas.

Web Design

Bruno Ribeiro, MFA, MBA

Bruno Ribeiro teaches web design and digital typography at Cal Poly. He received my degree of Master of Fine Arts in design with a specialization in college and university teaching from The Ohio State University in the spring of 2012. As a researcher, his focus is on interaction and motion design.

The post Meet our Instructors at Cal Poly appeared first on Summer Springboard.

See below for more information on the Summer Springboard instructors in UC San Diego!

Biotechnology

Vicki Nienaber-Meadows, Ph.D.

Dr. Nienaber has over 30 years’ experience at large companies, mid-sized biotech, and her own biotech, Zenobia Therapeutics. Throughout Dr. Nienaber’s career she has been both an early adopter as well as an inventor of instrumentation and technology directed towards early-stage drug discovery. She is best known as lead inventor of the crystallographic fragment-based lead discovery method that is still used worldwide to identify clinical candidates and marketed products. She was also the technical lead for invention of the first crystal mounting and alignment robot, ACTOR, which was recognized with an R & D top 100 innovations award. The robot is now sold commercially by Rigaku. Dr. Nienaber has overseen large multinational drug discovery programs, early-stage drug discovery pipelines and build platforms consisting of robotics, procedures, and relational databases and two companies. She has been awarded grants from the Michael J Fox Foundation, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation.

Emergency Medicine

Dr. Benjamin Supat

Born on the Central Coast of California, Benjamin Supat completed his undergraduate degree at Stanford University and a Master of Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis. He completed medical school at UC San Diego and is now a senior resident in the UCSD Emergency Medicine Residency Program. One of the consistent joys of his career has been the opportunity to give back through teaching and mentorship. He has regularly engaged learners across the spectrum, from middle school students to junior residents in the emergency department. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wonderful daughters and amazing wife.

Drone Cinematography

Brandon Murphy, MBA

This course was designed by Brandon Murphy. Brandon has worked with small businesses and Fortune 8 companies for over 13 years, bringing a wide range of expertise to RJ Films. He is responsible for setting the company-wide strategies and building our business, while overseeing the sales & marketing.

Psychology & Neuroscience

Karen Markowtiz, MA

Karen Markowitz has been a psychology instructor for over 20 years at various colleges and universities in the coastal San Diego area. She received both her Bachelor of Arts degree and her Master of Arts degree in psychology with an emphasis in the area of clinical psychology. She also has several years of experimental research conducted within the area of chemosensory perception (taste and smell) through the University of California San Diego. She takes great pleasure in working with adolescents and young adults as they begin the path to understanding the scientific study of human behavior and thought.

Fundamentals of Engineering

George Mansfield, MSME

George Mansfield loves both the practice and the teaching of engineering in equal measure. After receiving his bachelor’s degree from University of Detroit in 1956, he worked for 1 2 years designing engine control systems at three different companies, advancing from new-hire to Senior Staff Specialist at Solar Turbines in San Diego. In 1968, upon earning his MSME from San Diego State University, he accepted a full-time position there, ultimately retiring as a full professor in 1994. After returning to industry, Professor Mansfield returned to teach part time at SDSU in mostly project-based courses from 2002 to 2013. For the past 50+ years he has also maintained an active engineering consulting practice in diverse disciplines for many local companies.

The post Meet our Instructors in San Diego appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Our Boston program is a little different where we leverage the city of Boston and all of it’s resources. Classes are located at nearby universities such as MIT, Harvard, Simmons, or other elite locations. No matter the course, you’ll experience a buzzing campus filled with fellow bright, ambitious, energetic students.

See below for more information on the Summer Springboard instructors in Boston!

Medicine & Healthcare

Dr. Enrique Valdespino, MD, MSc

Most recently, Dr. Valdespino has been recruited by Doctors Without Borders to provide medical care where it is most needed, and is awaiting mission placement. Dr. Valdespino graduated from Harvard Medical School with a Master of Medical Sciences in Global Health Delivery. Prior to Harvard, Enrique worked as a physician with Compañeros en Salud México (CES), a sister organization of Partners in Health, after he completed his medical training. At CES he worked as a Regional Supervisor to support primary care physicians in charge of rural clinics in non-accessible areas. In this role, he addressed challenges in regards to medical care delivery, clinic management, and community relations.

Genetics

Summer Morrill and John Replogle, Ph.D. candidates

Summer Morrill and John Replogle are Ph.D. candidates in Biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Summer is an accomplished researcher with diverse laboratory experience. Her research at MIT includes studying the effect of gene dosage on genome maintenance as well as uncovering the origin and maintenance of haploinsufficiency in eukaryotic organisms. Summer graduated from Tufts University summa cum laude with highest thesis honors.

John is also a talented researcher and has written multiple publications. At MIT, he has researched aneuploidy in primary cells versus cancer cells. His findings were published in Cancer Cell. John holds a Bachelor in Molecular Biology as well as a minor in Mathematics from Pomona College.

Robotics

John Keszler, Ph.D. candidate

John Keszler is a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences (EECS) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. John was part of the Harvard Undergraduate Robotics Club and led a team of 20 people to design and build the next generation of Mars rovers that will one day work alongside astronauts exploring the Red Planet. He has also implemented machine learning techniques for autonomous soccer playing robots. John graduated from Harvard University cum laude in S.B Electrical Engineering with Honors.

Psychology & Neuroscience

Adam Morris, Ph.D. candidate

Adam Morris is a Ph.D. candidate and instructor in psychology at Harvard University. He received his B.S. in psychology from Brown University, where he graduated magna cum laude with honors. Adam specializes in social-emotional learning. Most of us spend decades of our life in school, and yet we are never taught the most meaningful thing: how to be with other people, in a healthy and fulfilling way. Adam seeks to understand the social-emotional skills that support a deep and nourishing social life, and to help people develop those skills. Adam has received numerous awards for his research and teaching, including the prestigious National Defense Science and Engineering Fellowship and the George W. Goethals Teaching Prize. When he’s not thinking about social-emotional learning, you might find Adam hiking in the White Mountains, rock climbing, dancing, or playing chess in Harvard Square.

Business & Entrepreneurship

Michellana Jester, Ed.D., M.P.P.

Michellana Jester is a Lecturer and GLab Course Manager at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She is responsible for leading the design and delivery of MIT Sloan’s largest project-based course, as well as supporting teams of student entrepreneurs around the world. Michellana has a master’s degree from Harvard University and a doctorate from Columbia University.

Artificial Intelligence

Shubhendu Trivedi, Ph.D.

Dr. Shubhendu Trivedi is a researcher at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT. His research interests include Metric and Similarity Learning, Low-Shot Learning, Group Equivariant Neural Networks, and Structured Prediction. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago where he earned a prize for his teaching in the Computer Science department. Dr. Trivedi was also a fellow at the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics at Brown University. He has been published in numerous academic journals for his work on machine learning and deep neural networks.

PS – If you don’t see an instructor for your preferred academic course listed, don’t worry. More information will be readily available soon. We just wanted to share a sneak peak now! 

The post Meet our Instructors in Boston appeared first on Summer Springboard.

Written by Lillie Dawes, Summer Springboard alumni

Choosing the right summer program can be overwhelming. With so many options, making a decision can be hard. Each program has a unique set of features to offer. As someone who’s been to multiple academic summer camps, I want to share what sets Summer Springboard apart.

A College Prep Program Like No Other

SSB allows high school students to explore a career field such as medicine and healthcare, business, engineering, or media and design. SSB’s curriculum is designed to help you navigate many aspects of your chosen field. Also, SSB offers an enrichment activity called The True You, where you explore possible colleges, learn about how to write application essays, and learn about yourself in general!

Enriching Activities

SSB offers a variety of enrichment electives during the afternoons. These provide useful life skills or a deeper understanding of the college applications and admissions process. Some electives include The True You, Photography, Public Speaking, English for Speakers of Other Languages, and Outdoor Athletic Training.

Hands-on Learning

During the academic course, students participate in hands-on learning and projects to deepen understanding and curiosity. As opposed to some programs, SSB gets out of the classroom and into the real world during outings and excursions related to the field of study. Each excursion is unique, such as exploring a Public Health Lab or visiting a planetarium.

Explore the Life of a College Student

As a participant of SSB, you get the chance to explore college life. Within boundaries, you can explore the campus, go out to eat, eat at the dining hall, explore the dorm, and many other things! Compared to other programs, SSB gives participants a better opportunity to get a feel for the campus and the college town. Also, SSB’s weekend excursions provide memorable experiences. Some campus-specific excursions include going to San Francisco, New York City, or theme parks such as Six Flags or Great America.

Lillie Dawes is one of Summer Springboard’s new marketing interns. She currently attends Haas Hall Academy in Rogers, Arkansas. She attended Summer Springboard at UC Berkeley last summer and participated in the Global Health track. She hopes to use the skills and knowledge she received to someday make a difference in the world. Feel free to reach out @lillie.dawes

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