The W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute is a summer program devoted to exposing middle and high school students to the joys of academia. Held on the Princeton University Campus, students live in dorms and attend daily classes, taught by the finest professors from around the country. Ranging from engineering to business and management to neuroscience, the university-level curriculum students are exposed to prepares them for the rigors of college. In broad terms, this summer program provides students of underrepresented communities with the tools they need to be successful and rise above the limitations that have been set before them.
Speaking from personal experience, the W.E.B. DuBois Scholars Institute made me the young woman that I am today. I was taught by influential professors, who made me think critically about myself and the world around me, all while making lifelong bonds with other motivated students. Had I not gone to the program, my work ethic would not be what it is today and my outlook on life would be different.
For many of us, a program devoted to the well-being of young minority students is refreshing. And once again, I can say from personal experience that having a safe space to learn and to be creative with other students who are just as motivated is just as refreshing. There is no pressure to act a certain way, like in a normal classroom. The only pressure placed on the students is to do better, surpass their own expectations and excel. The W.E.B. DuBois Institute is an incubator for growing minds that are capable of great things, despite the judgment participants face in their own society.