In late June 2024, Dwight Hall’s doors were opened to a vibrant cohort of students aged 10 to 14 who chose to spend their summer learning under the tutelage of the Ulysses S. Grant Foundation.
The program, better known as U.S. Grant, employs Yale undergraduates as teachers for six weeks, during which they create and teach their own curricula on a topic of their choice and design classrooms inside Dwight Hall. This year, Co-Directors Brooklyn Brauner ’26 and Lyn Rodriguez ’28 are leading a teaching team that includes James Collier ’26, Virginia Heinsen ’25, Iana Phipps ’25, Lelah Shapiro ’27, Mahdere Yared ’25, and Abigail Ojo ’26.
For Lyn, a New Haven native, her return to U.S. Grant was a homecoming. “I first got involved with the U.S. Grant program as a student in 2018, where I was taught by Kishore Chundi and Gabriel Groz,” she explained. “Kishore and Gabriel were outstanding teachers, and I have many fond memories of my time as a student. Their passion and dedication left a lasting impact on me. It was the first time I felt welcomed on Yale’s campus as a New Havener.”
Lyn would go on to serve as a U.S. Grant instructor in summer 2023, teaching a course on “History of the Mexica: The Triple Alliance.” Now, in 2024, she is co-directing the program.
“Seeing U.S. Grant evolve from the perspective of a student to a teacher, and now as a co-director, has been an enriching experience,” she reflected. “The program has grown in its reach and impact, continually expanding its course offerings and fostering a supportive learning environment for its students.”
One of the distinct aspects of the program is that all classes are specialized and different from the standardized curricula taught in public schools. “All six of our teachers built a curriculum from scratch,” emphasized Brooklyn. “They picked a topic they were passionate about and that we thought middle schoolers would be passionate about, and they planned day by day, week by week, on their own.”
Brooklyn explained that students spend the equivalent of six full school weeks learning with U.S. Grant. Students pick core classes–where they spend the majority of their time–and then additionally select elective courses.
Core courses offer a variety of engaging subjects, ranging from “fun math” and poetry to more specialized topics such as cartography, astronomy, environmental justice, and the importance of emotional intelligence. Electives are just as dynamic, providing time for students to fold origami, better understand health and movement through physical challenges, DIY their own fashion pieces, and create a newsletter for the program. Thanks to the time and effort student-teachers put into formulating such unique curricula, the students, Brooklyn said, have “a ton of fun.”
One rising ninth grader, Eleanor Matz, stated that she has enjoyed learning about emotional intelligence. “Since I want to be a doctor,” she wrote, “it’s nice to learn more about human functions.” Another student, rising eighth grader Marvelous Kelechi, wrote that he has “like[d] every single class so far.”
Student-teacher James Collier ’26 shared similar enthusiasm about his time with U.S. Grant. He emphasized how much he has enjoyed spending his summer as an instructor.
“I thought it would be fulfilling to be a mentor for a group of students I had never taught before. I do not have much experience teaching, but I thought it would be worth it. And it really has been. These kids are great, they are lovely kids, and the program has been awesome,” he said.
James also shared his approach to teaching astronomy, praising the program’s structure for enabling him to forge meaningful connections with his students despite lacking formal educational training.
“I think explaining the motivation behind discoveries is really important… There was a book that I read a long time ago in high school that I found really interesting. It was about the history of astronomy. I thought that if I had learned these concepts, I could teach them, and I have been using that book as a guide to structure my course.”
U.S. Grant teacher Lelah Shapiro ’27 teaches an environmental justice course in which she encourages students to find a “sense of place in our living history to understand how to make change through civic action.”
Lelah developed her class, which integrates the humanities with the environmental sciences, from the courses she most enjoyed during her first year at Yale, even incorporating a poem she had read in her first-semester English class into her syllabus. From literature to ecological databases to Minecraft environment simulations, she has tinkered with different media to engage her students.
As she has gotten to know her students’ interests, Lelah also recognizes the need for flexibility in her teaching. “There are just so many different subjects, and as I keep searching up the topics my students are interested in, I find so many more resources. I will have my whole lesson planned out, but once the kids want to learn more about [a specific topic], I immediately change direction.”
Beyond the traditional classroom setting, U.S. Grant enriches students’ learning experiences through a variety of extracurricular activities. During scheduled free time in the afternoons, the program has facilitated students’ connection with Yale resources and the New Haven community, combining learning with adventures. Students have visited the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Yale University Art Gallery, and the Peabody Museum, even meeting Handsome Dan and Yale’s Public Safety Dog, Heidi, on walks through New Haven.
A key facet of U.S. Grant is its accessibility to New Haven students from public and parochial schools. The program is offered to families for a total fee of $75 with full scholarships available. This affordable pricing structure ensures that financial constraints do not hinder students from participating in the enriching educational experience U.S. Grant provides.
“[Financial aid] was a crucial component that allowed me to participate in the program as a first-generation, low-income student,” emphasized Lyn.
Reflecting on her personal experience, Brooklyn explained the necessity of providing supportive and robust learning environments for passionate students: “These are 10- to 14-year-olds who are actively choosing to take academic classes throughout the summer, which is not very common. I mean, they are brilliant students, and the thing that is beautiful about [U.S.] Grant is it gives them a space to express being a nerd. In middle school, that was something I hid and I did not want people to know – that I liked school. And these kids like school enough that they go and do it for six weeks of their summer.”
U.S. Grant culminates its program with spirit weeks and the celebration of students’ final projects, which they choose and develop in their classes. By providing an environment where academic enthusiasm is celebrated, the program encourages students to find joy in their education.
The strength of the community that is built through the program can also not be understated. Noted Lyn, “[U.S. Grant] offers a space where students can connect with mentors and peers, creating lasting relationships that extend beyond the classroom.”
The Ulysses S. Grant Foundation represents the Engage pillar of Dwight Hall’s Engage, Grow, and Advance program delivery model through service-based partnerships with New Haven youth.
You may learn more about U.S. Grant here.
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