![A collage of my experiences at HOBY at Drew and Harvard Summer School session 1 this summer.](https://thechompgateway.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Screenshot-2023-09-09-1.50.28-PM.png)
I had a pretty busy summer, but it has been my best summer so far! I started it off by attending Drew University as Gateway’s designated sophomore HOBY Leadership ambassador. I spent the weekend with other NJ students listening to inspirational panel speakers and engaging in hands-on projects all focusing on how to become a stronger leader. The next week I packed up again, and my mom and I took the train to Cambridge, Massachusetts where we stayed at the Irving House Inn before I started my two-week stint at the Harvard Pre-College Program. We went to Boston, Brookline, meandered around Harvard Square, and stopped at every quaint bookstore in sight.
Later that week, she tearfully dropped me off at my dorm (I guess anticipating what that would feel like for real in two years), Eliot House, and I started my two weeks! I had the best time! I took the most interesting philosophy of science course with an awesome professor and group of peers from seven countries, was able to participate in college activities and trips around New England, made a great group of friends from all over the world, got to eat at the iconic Annenburg dining hall, had fun navigating Cambridge on my own, and loved my dorm–minus the 2:00 AM fire drill in the pouring rain on the second night. I definitely got a taste of the true college experience. I ended my week by presenting and defending my research and evaluation on a cholesterol drug clinical trial that was involved in a Supreme Court level patent dispute. Check out my photo gallery!
I spent the rest of my summer volunteering at Angels Community Outreach in Pitman and with my family going on fun day trips like Storybook Land, seeing my cousins in Connecticut, and visiting The Breakers and the Gatsby Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. I finished off my summer studying for and taking the August SAT.
I had a great summer and can’t wait to see what junior year holds!