My Summer at Washington University in St. Louis by Morgan Schultz, JIF '15

Me in front of Brookings Hall

This summer, I had the extraordinary opportunity to enroll in two classes at Washington University in St. Louis. I took ‘Improvisation for the Actor’ and ‘Introduction to Problem-based Learning in Biology’ (I know it’s a mouthful, try saying that every time someone asks you what classes you are taking!). My program lasted for five weeks and they honestly flew by, but also it seemed so long at the same time. It was great to be a real college student, taking college classes with high school and college students. 

The best part of my program truly was meeting so many people from all over the United States and the world! There were so many different learning experiences, not just in my classes, but also just talking to everyone in my program. One of the funniest discussions I had was with my friend from California. One night after dinner, we spent twenty minutes talking about the pronunciation of apricot. I insisted on ‘app-ricot’, while she was stuck on ‘ape-ricot’! Of course, there were more serious regional and cultural differences that were more thought-provoking than apricots, as well!

Before I went into my first improvisation class, I was very worried that the college students were going to be judging me or just focusing on how young I was. It genuinely surprised me when they treated me just the same as everyone else. Even though they also always talked about how young and ‘cute’ I was, that wasn’t what they focused on and I learned that I shouldn’t have been scared of going into my class, because it was everyone else’s first day of that class, too. They were also nervous!

Because of that class, I learned that I actually want to pursue theatre and acting as a minor in college. Before, I thought that I might want to do theatre in college and maybe minor in it, maybe not. After all, I had thought, it’s just an extracurricular I participate in on the side. When the class ended, I wanted to take another right away! I also learned from my biology class that I can be successful in science in the college environment and beyond. Before the program, I knew that I liked science, especially biology, but the class actually showed me that I can compete at the college level in science, and enjoy it too!

Another wonderful benefit I received from being a JIF Summer Scholar is my mentor, Karen. She was so supportive and sweet throughout the program and afterward. She once told me, “I’ll be like your St. Louis mom!” and she was indeed. Karen, along with my two WashU JIF sisters and my roommate, helped me to get through my homesickness at certain points in the program and they were always there for me, and still are! 

I’m so grateful that I was able to be a JIF Summer Scholar, to learn so many new things and to gain many lasting friendships.

My friends and I before the final dinner of the program