In the final weeks of summer, we are looking back on another busy and fruitful year of YYAS programs! In 2024, YYAS continued to host two separate programs – one fully online and one residential. Both programs brought together an exceptional group of young African leaders whose excitement, passion, and dedication created a truly unique learning atmosphere.
Across both programs, we welcomed a group of around 320 secondary school students representing 40 different African countries (shown in blue on the map to the right). Students were selected through a holistic admissions review process. For the first time this year, YYAS implemented two rounds of admissions – early action and regular decision – mimicking many university admissions cycles. This allowed the students admitted through early action a much longer lead time to plan for their travel or apply for visas, if necessary, as the decisions were released in late 2023.
YYAS Online College Prep Workshop
YYAS kicked off the 2024 summer on July 18 with the YYAS Online College Prep Workshop. This six-day, fully online program welcomed close to 225 secondary school students from 35 countries across the continent. The College Prep Workshop was facilitated through Google Classroom and Zoom from July 18 – July 23, 2024.
The College Prep Workshop this year was facilitated by a wonderful group of instructors who are current undergrad and graduate students at a variety on institutions including Yale, Harvard, Pomona, and the University of Texas Dallas. The instructors really were the face of YYAS as they supported students navigating through academic seminars, college and career related workshops, panels and more! While the instructors are all current students in the US, they were all able to make use of their own individual connections to the African continent, whether personal or academic, to connect with students. Each instructor had a small “family” group that they got a chance to connect with on a more intimate level and build community.
YYAS students often point to the academic seminars as a highlight of the program, and this year was no different! Our instructors taught a wide range of academic seminars including Ethics in the World of Artificial Intelligence, Global Health Perspectives: Africa and the COVID-19 Pandemic, The Most Beautiful Game: Exploring the Cultural, Societal, and Economic Impacts of Soccer in Africa, Demystifying Mental Health in Africa, and Understanding Addiction through Neuroscience (just to name a few). Each seminar lasted 105 minutes and was modeled off the type of discussion-based course students might encounter in university.
In addition to the academic seminars, students had a chance to hear from a variety of inspiring speakers over the course of the College Prep Workshop. Eddie Mandhry returned this year to give the Keynote Address relating to his own personal and professional journey. It was also our privilege to hear from featured career speakers Maria Mayanja, Sahar Albazar, Schadrack Karekezi, Evans Muzulu, Teferi Abate, and Issa Diabaté.
The students were also able to speak with University Admissions Representatives from African Leadership University, Minerva University, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins University, Yale University, Carleton College, Columbia University, USIU-Kenya, Brock University, University of Chicago, Georgetown University in Qatar, Sciences Po, Oberlin College, Emory University, Macalester College, Northwestern University, and University of California Berkeley. A small group of YYAS Alumni also returned to speak as panelists on the Uni Real Talk panel – a chance for students to ask candid questions about university life. The Alumni are current students at Yonsei University, Ashesi University, Yale University, Wellesley College, African Leadership University, Alfred University, Georgetown University in Qatar, and Ashoka University.
YYAS is excited to continue offering an online program (even after many COVID 19 related restrictions have lifted) because of how accessible it is. YYAS is able to offer online admissions to some students who would not otherwise have been able to attend the residential program. This access is a crucial part of YYAS’s mission to reach more high-achieving, low income (HALI) students form all across Africa. However, the online format poses its own challenges, including the affordability and accessibility of mobile data. Zoom and other live video conferencing options can be difficult to use when internet access is limited or weak. YYAS was thrilled to partner with a variety of telecom companies, including Safaricom Ethiopia and MTN, to provide data sponsorships to students who needed them. Students located in Zambia, Rwanda, Ghana, and Ethiopia had the opportunity to take advantage of these data sponsorships to help them access the Online College Prep Workshop.
YYAS Residential Leadership Summit
On August 12th, YYAS kicked off the 2024 Residential Leadership Summit in Harare, Zimbabwe. For the second year in a row, YYAS was hosted by St. George’s College, a Jesuit boarding school located in Harare. This year YYAS was able to double the number of students attending the Residential Leadership Summit, bringing nearly 100 students and 10 staff. 2024 also marked the first Residential Leadership Summit since the Covid-19 hiatus that was able to function completely free of charge for all participants. In addition to $0 in tuition, YYAS was also able to fully fund the international travel costs of 35 students through need-based Travel Grants. YYAS was thrilled to be able to support these 35 students who came from all regions of Africa and brought invaluable insights and perspective to the YYAS community.
During the 10-day Summit, students participated in components designed to stretch their thinking on a variety of topics from academics to career pathways and their future plans. Seven Yale students and recent graduates served as Instructors who led the students through each step of the process. In addition, one current Yale student supported all the students as the Residential Life Manager. This fantastic team of staff fostered a sense of community through their leadership in Family Time sessions, their MC skills during the Talent Show and Cultural Night celebration, and their unfailing dedication in the dorms. They guided students through the process of Designing for Impact, where they worked in teams to present social impact project ideas. Instructors also developed and taught academic seminars ranging from Dismantling Colonial Architectural Legacies in African Cities, Voices of the Land: Indigenous Storytelling on Ecology, to The Evolution of Masculinity in African Societies.
This year’s YYAS Summit featured an inspiring slate of guest speakers including six career speakers (Phillip Zudzayi, Chido Dziva Chikwari, Nontsi Mutiti, Alessia Mussomeli, Tinashe Muyambo, and Tinoda Moyo) and three featured lecturers. Rachel Adams returned to YYAS to deliver her well-loved leadership lecture and workshop, while Janah Ncube (2023 Yale World Fellow) and Mae-Ling Lokko (Assistant Professor at Yale University’s School of Architecture and Yale’s Center for Ecosystems in Architecture) attended for the first time to deliver a lectures on their work in conflict areas across Africa and sustainable building materials, respectively.
YYAS also welcomed admission representatives from Education USA, African Leadership University, Brock University, Georgetown University in Qatar, Minerva University, USIU-Kenya, and Yale University to run workshops for the students and host an admissions fair for both YYAS students and local students in the area. The admissions representatives were also instrumental in facilitating aspects of the 2024 YYAS Educator’s Conference. This day-long, professional development conference was open to college and career rounselors or educators locally in Zimbabwe as well as regionally in Southern Africa. The educators who joined represented five provinces in Zimbabwe and five other African countries (South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi, and Kenya). YYAS was able to cover the travel costs for six educators to attend the conference who would otherwise not have been able to attend. The Educator’s Conference is an integral part of YYAS’s goal to expand our impact by creating a professional learning community for educators to improve their practice in their own schools and communities.
The YYAS Leadership Summit in 2024 wrapped up with a visit to Chapungu Sculpture Park, a local park in Harare featuring several generations of Zimbabwean artists’ stone sculptural creations. The Summit culminated in a certificate ceremony, which featured winners for the YYAS Student Speaker Series and the Designing for Impact teams, and a celebratory Cultural Night.
After successfully completing the 2024 YYAS programming, students will become a part of the YYAS alumni network.
In 2024, YYAS is piloting a reimagined version of the Mentorship program, called the YYAS Pathways Program. This Pathways Program will run each September to January to provide support for YYAS alumni who are currently in their final year of secondary school and actively working on their post-secondary plans, from university applications to planning gap years and entreprenuerial pursuits. This program will kick off for the first time in September 2024!
