The LU Blog

Today was Duke University’s first Splash, and what a program it was.  One hundred and twenty students from all over the area, with most coming from Durham Public Schools.  It was a program that very successfully built a community.  Before the first class, students and “counselors” were playing games together and meeting one-another.  Before lunch, everyone took part in either a puzzle-solving or bridge-building team competition for Duke-themed prizes.  At (the free) lunch, everyone ate together in one room at large tables to get to know each other.

The end result was an amazing community.  You could tell how much everyone enjoyed meeting each other.  We all bonded, and that’s in an environment where the focus was learning.

In the end, of the 90 students that turned in surveys at the end, 80 said that they would recommend the program to their friends.  Four left the question blank, five said they wouldn’t (sad, but something to improve on!) and one — when asked to circle “yes or no,” circled the “or.”  Whatever that means!

I’m really looking forward to see what Duke does next time they run a program.  Hopefully, I’ll also get to post some pictures once they come in and we sort out photo releases from the students.  And to all the students I met, thanks for coming to my class and I hope to see you next time!

Duke University will be running its first Splash in just two weeks!  If you’re a student in the Triangle area, you should go!  Congratulations to everyone involved on creating what looks to be a really amazing program.

The year in Splash:

• MIT ran a Splash for around 2300 middle and high school students (and numerous other programs, too!).
• Stanford ran two Splashes for around 700 students each.
• The University of Chicago ran a free program for around 400 students.

In October, Learning Unlimited became a reality when we officially incorporated as a nonprofit corporation in the state of Massachusetts.  Our website launched in October as well.  In November, we received our first funding from a family foundation.

In 2010, we are looking forward to the first Splash at Duke University.

Thank you to everyone who has helped make our work a success, and happy holidays to all.  See you in January!

The end of each year is the most important fundraising period for any nonprofit.  This is the last time to get in a tax-deductible donation for 2009, and with the holidays, everyone is thinking about how to do good.

Learning Unlimited is no different.  We, too, are reliant in these early stages on the help of others.  Our organization now consists of roughly fifteen volunteers building up the core of a brand new startup (with our first employee coming in January!).  We have already been incredibly fortunate to get others’ support in this year.

Regardless, if you are able, please consider making a donation, in any amount.  Whatever you contribute will be invaluable to our mission of helping every student to find their passion.

The University of Chicago’s Cascade program was featured on Chicago’s undergraduate home page.  Go and hear about how pirates and reporters mingle, and see a photo of someone teaching in a Batman costume!

You can see more about the Cascade program at their home page.

I still remember the first discussion I had that I considered a true “intellectual” discussion (it was about architecture).  I was in eighth grade, at a summer program, and I still remember the sense of being around others who cared about thinking deeply about abstract topics.  Their wonder and inspiration at what we were discussing became my own, and it stuck with me long after I forgot many of the specifics from my classes there.

Enter Splash.  It’s just a weekend; there are incredible opportunities to learn, but it all goes by so fast.  Can you really be expected to remember something from the huge flurry of classes?  Sure, you might remember bits and pieces, but all of that material?

I think what you can remember is the experience of learning.  That you came to a program where you were part of a group that was excited about learning.  When you’re away from that group you still identify with it, and can still maintain the identity while separated.  Yes, Splash can directly inspire, and can instill an inner desire to continue to learn, but I’m beginning to see why there needs to be time for that community to manifest itself, in classes, at meals, at registration, anywhere.

At MIT’s most recent Splash, I was struck to see an incredible community in my (brace yourself) six hour math class.  About three hours in, everyone just loosened up incredibly, joking with one-another (yes, math jokes!  And other jokes too…), reflecting on the material, patting each other on the back for sticking through such hard stuff.  We were all engaged in the endeavor together, and it was absolutely fantastic.

But that same community comes up everywhere: the class that built a windmill together (titled, ironically enough, “I Don’t Know How to Build a Windmill”), the class discussion on education where students shared their backgrounds from their very different schools (or lack of schools, for homeschoolers), the people in the halls who start talking about some crazy topic only to have others latch on to the conversation.

Yet despite all this community, I always feel like there’s room for more, and I’m not sure how to make it happen.  So, although it’s self-defeating to ask for comments in a new blog that doesn’t have readers yet, how important is the community to you at Splash?  Should Splash try to create more opportunities for students to meet each other (and the teachers), and if so, how?

MIT Splash was a huge success, bringing over 2300 middle and high school students to the MIT campus for hundreds upon hundreds of exciting classes.  Congratulations to everyone involved.  Students and families reported constantly how much they loved it (and many traveled incredible distances — California, Virginia, Florida — to attend), and I certainly had a lot of fun.

Now these programs enter into a bit of a quiet time.  We’re not expecting anything else to start up until February, which gives some breathing room for long-term planning and preparations.

Welcome to the Learning Unlimited web page and blog!  Learning Unlimited doesn’t run Splash, but we’re a group formed by alumni Splash leaders to help spread the program to universities across the country.  LU is creating a national network of college student leaders that make programs like Splash happen, and we’re in the process of starting new programs in as many places as we can.

Want to be a part of it?  Then learn more about us, see how you can help, and consider donating.  Thanks for coming, take a look around, and I hope you’ll join our project to bring this opportunity to absolutely everyone we can.

MIT Splash in just a few days.

Incidentally, you’ve all ordered too many T-shirts.  As the person handling the shirt order, let me just tell you: we’re going to have to rush order to have enough for all our students!  (But they do look great, so you should be pretty happy with the results when you get them!)

If you’re in the Boston area and haven’t registered for Splash, check it out.

(You might ask why the CEO of a nonprofit organization would be ordering T-shirts for a college student group’s program.  Because a) the program is awesome, and b) when Splash happens, everyone helps out.  Alumni have a long tradition of helping out with MIT Splash; it’s part of what makes the community so special.)

Last night, registration opened for Splash.  Each student was allowed to sign up for only one class, so that everyone would get to get into one of their top choices.  The result?  Over 1500 students registered, the website was a little bit slow, but not too bad, and people were happy.

And then tonight.  Are you trying to register right now?  I’m sorry.  Despite renting eight powerful servers from Amazon, MIT’s web page is having problems… because over two thousand students are registering for Splash right now.

Two thousand!

While I’m upset that the website is having so many problems, and that so many of you are experiencing such a frustrating registration, know that it will be worth it.  This November 21 and 22 is going to be amazing!  (And the MIT website administrators will get to work on a website solution right away.  It’s just that each time, the problem gets fixed only to have more students the next year.)