Many students squished into the elevator after a long field trip.

Imagine voluntarily taking two weeks of summer before your last year of high school, living on a college campus and working on college assignments. This is exactly what 24 of us have done. Many have probably been worrying about the amount of work that must be done, and worrying whether or not they’d have to share a dorm room with a complete stranger. I believe the last thing that many of us thought we’d encounter when applying for the Knowledge for Freedom Seminar is such an amazing group of people, from all different places. It didn’t take many of us very long to become well acquainted with one another. By the end of day two, the inhabitants of floor 3 had created their own group chat with each other, and soon following came the group chat between most everyone; sharing their stories from our own schools back home, playing games with each other, and trading funny inside jokes that got messaged back and forth.

Atticus, Anthony, Finn, and Arianna taking picture evidence for their campus scavenger hunt.

Despite the rigorous schoolwork compressed within a small two week period, this has been one of the best and most fun summer experiences I’ve had. Even considering the small amount of time we’ve known one another, I feel we really have created such an amazing community, and have made some truly incredible connections. Most of us probably didn’t guess we’d enjoy these past two weeks as much as we’ve had. As for myself, I’m excited to return home, but I know I’m gonna miss this experience and all those involved. Once these two weeks are over I think it may be a little bittersweet. Not everyone may feel the same as myself. Some may think very little of everyone once they leave, some may dwell and miss it for a while, and few may stay in contact. The truth is, none of us really knows what will happen once we’re done with this seminar, once we step off campus and make our way back home. No matter what, we’ve all taken the opportunity to step out of our comfort zones and make new connections. Even if you’re not here for the history, I think being here for the experience is just as great.