From Brooklyn, New York to Providence, Rhode Island, four Malibu High School (MHS) teens engaged in study programs in some of the best East Coast universities this summer.
While many Malibu students are eager to hit the beaches once school ends, these driven teens decided to continue their education across the country.
“I wanted to experience what school on the East Coast would be like, and also wanted to feel some independence from my parents and, in doing so, I ended up pretty far from Malibu,” Jacob Leonard explained. Leonard will be a senior at MHS in the fall and attended the Boston University Summer Challenge Program for Business and Economics in hopes of preparing himself for a future in business.
The summer study follows a trend of MHS teens going out of state for college. According to The Shark Fund, 44 MHS grads from the class of ‘16 chose to study out of state this fall — from Hawaii to New York to the UK.
Although all of the MHS teens aimed to expand their educations, each one had his or her own individual pursuits in varying subjects.
Grace Bindley, also a rising MHS senior, decided to fulfill a lifetime goal and focus her summer studying the science of psychology at Columbia University in Manhattan, N.Y.
“I really like the course because every day is a new learning experience for me — whether that being through an interesting lecture or challenged experiment,” Bindley said. “I’ve always been curious about the study of the brain and wanted to expand my knowledge through taking a rigorous program that would be beneficial.”
Alexa Barton, another senior at MHS, also found herself in New York — near Bindley at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Barton spent her time exploring various disciplines including English, creative writing, art history and a portfolio design class.
“All of my teachers [at Pratt] are pretty great and cool people in general; we have written a wide variety of fiction, screenwriting and prose, along with some poetry,” Barton described. “I liked it a lot and have made friends with people from across the world.”
Just over three hours north of Barton, Malibu High senior Gemma Lewis was participating in a three-week program at Brown University in Providence, R.I., where she was able to study music and politics — a class in which students analyzed the political meaning behind music from composers such as Bob Dylan and Shostakovich.
“Music has always been a really significant part of my life and when I found out about this class, I was so excited because now I had the chance to learn about the political role it had on society during that specific time period in which it was made,” Lewis said. “I’m finding out that the music I’ve always loved can be propaganda to come join a revolution or just simply reflect a drastic change in society.”
When asked why they chose the East Coast, each student had lots of commentary to say about why they felt going “back east” was the best fit for their summer experience.
“I really enjoyed East Coast — mostly I like the active city life. It’s hard for me, though, because I’m a surfer and like to be close to the water. But overall, the experience was great,” Leonard said. He added he hopes to end up at an East Coast university in the 2017 school year.
Bindley added that while she loves Malibu, it was great to experience a change in culture.
“I love the East Coast. I mean I can’t complain — growing up in Malibu has been amazing, but I love the city and think it’s important to experience new places. [The West Coast and East Coast] are two different types of cultures with all sorts of diverse people. I feel so fortunate to be able to experience both areas and learn more about their values,” Bindley said.
Barton explained that she actually preferred the East Coast to the West Coast.
“I chose this program because I love the East Coast and, in all honesty, have never really been a fan of small town Malibu. I like the East Coast because it’s more diverse and the people aren’t as like minded as they are where we live,” Barton said.
Lewis, on the other hand, was unsure whether the East Coast was for her.
“Honestly, I’m still deciding [if I like it]. There are different areas of the East Coast that I like, but I’m not sure if I can picture myself living here. There’s a different energy that fills the air and I’m not quite sure if it suits me yet, but we’ll see,” Lewis explained.
All of the teens reported that their overall experience has been very beneficial.
“[Experiencing the East Coast] broadened my horizons a little bit more than before I came here to the cultures and types of lifestyles that I had not been previously accustomed to,” Barton concluded.
As the summer draws to a close and the new school year approaches, the MHS seniors are looking forward to bringing their newly gained knowledge to their final year of high school.
