By Qiao Li, Program Coordinator Yunasa camps are designed to work with gifted and highly gifted children to nurture balance and stimulate growth in the whole self. At Yunasa, we work with experts in gifted education to provide a week-long camp that is filled with self-exploration, connection...
By Megan Figueroa, Program Manager "One of the most valuable experiences a gifted student can have is exposure to a mentor who is willing to share personal values, a particular interest, time, talent and skills. When the experience is properly structured and the mentor is...
By Nicole Endacott, IEA Program Coordinator Summer 2019 is a wrap! As always, this summer was fulfilling and busy. Returning students reconnected with one another and a large group of bright new students entered the IEA community for the first time. Read on to hear...
By Kaitlyn Chen, IEA Summer Programs Intern This summer, I had the chance to intern at the Institute for Educational Advancement. The eight-week internship went beyond my expectations. I learned so much more than I could have asked for, whether that was figuring out how to...
By Samantha Outcalt, Yunasa Volunteer Gifted kids spend a lot of time in their heads. They devote considerable energy to thinking, wondering, analyzing, drafting, problem-solving, inventing, calculating, composing, planning, investigating, comparing, contrasting, formulating, predicting…and so on. They have great practice living inside their heads and tend...
By Kate Connally, IEA Summer Programs Intern Working as an intern for the Institute for Educational Advancement has been a wonderful experience, the highlight of my summer. You might think I’d be an old hand in IEA; after all, I attended the Yunasa summer camp for...
By Qiao Li, Yunasa Program Coordinator IEA’s annual Yunasa camp concluded powerfully at Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan! Throughout the week, we watched all 79 campers – including 23 leadership campers – get to know themselves and each other in gentle yet profound ways. As ever,...
By Anvi Kevany One of my favorite past times is reading. I love to read, especially travel stories, stories about small-town America, funny stories, classics, fantasies, science fiction, to name a few genres. I have compiled a list, based on my research from Good Reads, and the...
By Qiao Li, Yunasa Coordinator Yunasa West this year was yet another fun-filled week that’s packed with self-discovery and growth at YMCA Camp Shady Brook! Campers ventured out to try something new, made lasting friendships and attended many impactful workshops that are designed to nurture balance...
[vc_row css_animation="" row_type="row" use_row_as_full_screen_section="no" type="full_width" angled_section="no" text_align="left" background_image_as_pattern="without_pattern"][vc_column][vc_column_text] This summer, IEA is celebrating gifted youth at our Summer Spotlight! Join us on June 20th to observe interactive demonstrations led by members of each IEA program, roast s’mores and connect with other families of gifted children. Additionally, everyone will be...
By Felicia V. Gaddis Summer has arrived, school is out and you are probably trying to find something for your young gifted child to do that will engage and satisfy their insatiable curiosity. May I suggest conducting a backyard safari? Backyard Safari is a creative way to...
By Anvi Kevany, IEA Administrative Assistant Summer is here and you may be wondering what programs or activities are available for your child to attend. We have done some research for you and compiled a list of fantastic Summer programs that serve gifted youth. All these...
By Emily Vesper, Yunasa West Camper Whenever I try to tell my friends back in California about the week I’ve spent in Colorado every summer for the past three years, words fall just short. I describe to them the intense friendship, the emotional growth, the tight-knit...
by Marielle Kang, EXPLORE Extern In July of last year, I had the opportunity to work with Dr. Amy Catlin-Jairazbhoy, an ethnomusicology professor at UCLA, at Apsara Media. I helped Dr. Amy with her work with the Sidi people, an African, Sufi minority in India. In...
by Ashley Manalad, EXPLORE Extern Going into high school, I was dead set on becoming an engineer. Although art was one of my passions, I never really realized what value my art skills held and what I could potentially use it for on a professional level....
By Eli McLaughlin, Academy Student This summer was my first time at Academy. I had two classes, Ocean Exploration and Around the Wor(l)d: Letters and Language. On the first day of Ocean Exploration, I was the second one there. I didn't know what to expect since this...
by Mark Blekherman, EXPLORE Extern When I stepped into IEA’s Barder House on June 18, I did not know what to expect. While I had researched the mission and programs of IEA, I was not sure what exactly the term “non-profit management” encompassed, nor was I familiar...
by Mark Blekherman, Summer EXPLORE Extern Academy classes are at once engaging and educational. While sitting in on three classes two weeks ago, I was surprised by the instructors’ hands-on, student-centered approach to learning. Academy students arrive at conclusions through discussion and inquiry; rather than feeding...
by Hillary Jade, Program Manager Robert Frost’s 1923 poem Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening has spoken to me more times than I could even begin to count – on both personal and professional levels. Whenever deadlines loom, I reflect on Frost’s yearning for the...
by Hillary Jade, Program Manager It’s hard to believe – but summer break is already upon us. Schools are letting out, vacations are being booked, and myriad summer activities are being mulled over. With that in mind, you may be asking yourself, “Why should I choose...
by Benjamin Snookal, Academy Student Four years ago, I took my first class at IEA’s Academy. It was a film making class and I created a Lego film titled “Night of the Living Vacuum.” Since then I’ve done chemistry experiments, learned to meditate and built a Rube Goldberg machine...
by Nicole LaChance, Marketing & Communications Coordinator Are you a high school student looking for a dynamic, challenging summer experience? Look no further than the EXPLORE program! Here are five reasons why you should join us this summer. Hands-On Experience “I learned what a career in research...
by Hayden Best, Yunasa Camper and CDB Scholar The first time I went to Yunasa in 2015, I was extremely nervous. At the time, I was pretty much the textbook introvert, having been homeschooled for almost two years. Additionally, I had gone the year before to...
by Hillary Jade, Program Manager The winter holidays are officially behind us and if you’re like us here at IEA, summer is now on your mind! We’re looking forward to trading in boots for flip-flops, scarves for suntans and short January days spent indoors for the...
by Matthew Burke, EXPLORE Alumnus In ninth grade, while studying for midterms and slogging through term papers, I started daydreaming about how I wanted to spend my summer. Ideally, I wanted to do scientific research, but given my age, I wasn’t sure what types of opportunities...