Introduction:More than ever, Dwight Hall at Yale is creating pathways…
In late June 2026, Dwight Hall’s doors opened to a cohort of students aged 10 to 14 who chose to spend their summer learning under the tutelage of the Ulysses S. Grant Foundation.
The Ulysses S. Grant Foundation has been a hallmark each summer at Dwight Hall. Founded in 1953, the program cultivates summers of learning for New Haven students, focusing on academic preparation and equipping middle schoolers with the necessary skills for high school and college. Notably, the program is subsidized with full scholarships, allowing students who might have limited resources to participate in these academic opportunities.
The program, also known as U.S. Grant, employs Yale undergraduates as teachers for six weeks, during which they create, design, and teach their own curricula on topics of their choice for students inside the Hall.
This year, the two co-directors, Steven Rourick ’27 and Nati Somma ’28, led a teaching team that included Devika Kothari ’27, Jack Northrup ’26, Sammy Albright ’27, Tirsit Gessesse ’27, and Jimena Castaneda ’29.
Core courses ranged from business and economics to learning more about the Earth and climate change. Electives, on the other hand, allowed students to branch out into their specific interests with courses such as color chemistry, understanding and writing media, and internet culture.
Steven Rourick ’27, who has served as a teacher and co-director for two consecutive years, shared that he and the teaching team design lessons so students are learning while also having fun. Last year, Steven, an English major, taught a creative writing course inspired by one of his Yale courses. The curriculum Steven built consisted of three units: fiction, poetry, and playwriting. At the end of the course, the students showcased their creative writing portfolio with fictional prose, poetry, and plays that they performed. “Writing as a skill is so transferable; you’ll have to write no matter what and students always come out with phenomenal pieces of work,” Steven shared.
Earlier in the summer, students went on a field trip to the Yale Farm and tasted some of the food grown there. In prior years, students have ventured to the Yale University Art Gallery, the Peabody Museum, in addition to Dwight Hall and Old Campus. “What’s important about field trips, and even teaching kids at Dwight Hall, is that it eliminates the separation between Yale and New Haven,” Steven shared.
Learning and community building also happen in unexpected ways. Steven shared that students will have a surprise field trip to Scantlebury Park where they will get to “pie” their teacher’s faces. One of Steven’s favorite memories occurred earlier this summer as students struggled to get through a memory game. The kids had to list things within a category, and they could not repeat anything that had already been said by a classmate. After several unsuccessful attempts, Steven began to suspect students were purposefully losing. The teaching team decided to challenge the group: if they got through all 60 students without any repetitions, they would win a pizza party. “As soon as they did it, I shouted, ‘You Won!’ and they just went crazy,” Steven recalled.
These sorts of experiences are made possible by the work of teachers, donors, as well as administrators such as Sam Purdy ’10, a board member of the U.S. Grant program. Sam’s journey with U.S. Grant began as a Yale undergraduate, first serving as a teacher and later as a co-director before joining the program’s Board of Directors.
“Applying to teach at U.S. Grant changed the trajectory of my life because I fell in love with teaching, and that summer I fell in love with New Haven. Becoming a full-time classroom teacher during the program shaped everything else I’ve done in New Haven and was how I got started in education.”
At its core, the program emphasizes the students who walk through its doors each year. Students come into the program with an investment in their learning, and through this program, they can experience academics in a different context and from a new perspective. One particularly notable aspect is the program’s structure, which emphasizes the student-to-student teaching model.
Sam continued, “Being taught by Yale undergraduates, students themselves, the students of the program are actively engaged. Yale students are fresh out of Ethics, Politics, Economics, Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and other majors. They’re spending the year learning, and then they take a six-week break to teach. There’s a unique energy that comes from college students learning alongside younger students. Kids walk away with role models and a diverse teaching team that mirrors the diversity of the student body.”
Sam emphasized the core principle of the U.S. Grant program was every individual’s dedication and adoration for learning.
“I think learning is joyful, and it has the power to bring people together. It’s summer. It’s 91 degrees. People could be running through a sprinkler, relaxing at home in the AC, or traveling on vacation. Yet, they are here. U.S.Grant believes in and embodies the idea that learning can be joyful. What better way to spend your summer than learning alongside people you may know from past programs, new friends you meet in the city, or individuals you could connect with for the first time? This program is about learning about the world, learning about yourself, and learning about your community.”
The U.S. Grant program embodies the Advance pillar of the organization’s Engage, Grow, and Advance model, which supports collaborative projects and incubates innovative solutions that bring about lasting change in New Haven and communities nationwide.
To learn more about the U.S. Grant program and get involved, click here.
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