On Tuesday, the Center for Talented Youth (CTY) held a reunion for participants of the program as an opportunity to reconnect and share their experiences.
As their mission states, CTY aims to, "seek students of the highest academic ability through its talent search and offer them challenging educational opportunities that develop the intellect, encourage achievement, and nurture social development."
Over 10,000 students participate in summer programs held in 27 sites around the country each year, and another 10,000 in online programs.
These programs are offered for students of all ages, from second grade to 12th grade.This is the first reunion event since 2006, when CTY had some changes in administration.
"It is an opportunity to develop relationships that started at CTY to continue at Hopkins. It is a good way to keep communications with alums," Sarah Shelfer, the associate of alumni relations who organized the reunion, said.
Around 30 students attended the event and met fellow CTY-ers, sharing memories from their particular program site.
While the event was composed mostly of mostly freshmen, there was a diverse group of students who attended various CTY programs. Many attended several programs throughout their middle-school and high school years.
"It's the best thing I've ever done," freshman Meggie Margrabe, who attended the Princeton, Lancaster, Carlisle and St. Mary's programs, said.
"Everyone's nerdy and dorky, and it's a ton of fun, especially all the traditions," freshman Lina Huo said.
Although the students did not think that participating in CTY directly affected their decision to go to Hopkins, they believed it at least put Hopkins on the radar when considering schools to apply for.
"CTY is not intended to be a feeder for Hopkins, but because the caliber of these students is above average, they tend to attend prestigious institutions, such as Hopkins," director of communications Chuck Beckman said.
"Students get a flavor of the Hopkins experience in these programs. And the greatest benefit is the people they meet through CTY. Even if they don't attend the summer program at Hopkins itself, they get a quality of education that comes with the Hopkins name," communications coordinator Matt Bauder said.
"It felt really good to be in an environment that was really stimulating, with kids who wanted to learn as much as I did," freshman Eddie Brooks said.
According to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, there were 1201 CTY-ers in the 2008 applicant pool, of which 501 were accepted. Beckman says there are typically 50-80 CTY students in each class.
Alums of CTY have gone on to become renowned members of society, like Sergei Brin of Google, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, and Lady Gaga.
The directors of CTY offered students job opportunities as teaching assistants, resident advisors, and health advisors in future CTY programs. CTY-ers show a lot of loyalty to the program, by coming back to work, donating to funds and having their own kids join CTY later.
"There is one family that has been with CTY for 22 years with all their children participating in our programs. Now that's loyalty," CTY executive director Lea Ybarra said.After 30 years of developing talent, CTY is still going strong despite current economic conditions.
In fact, Ybarra announced at the reunion plans to expand into more countries, such as Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. There is even a BizCamp here in Baltimore that allows students to develop their entrepreneurship skills and create a business plan.
Currently, students of CTY represent all 50 American states as well as 119 countries. This truly international program is likely to raise those numbers in the upcoming years and fulfill their vision to be "the world leader in the education of pre-collegiate students of high academic quality."
According to Shelfer, events like these are hosted so that the bright alums can create a family of support and opportunities to promote CTY and share their experiences with others.