It was June 21 when senior Raveena Goyal arrived in Cambridge, Mass. for a journey that would change her life. The next day, Goyal stepped foot on the most prestigious campus in America: Harvard. Goyal recalled her first day on campus and already noticed how it was different from high school.
“My first thought was ‘Wow, this isn’t high school anymore,’” Goyal said. “Everyone was doing their own thing and everyone was so mature. I also was questioning myself if I was prepared and ready for the experience.”
Although Goyal felt unsure about the Harvard Summer School program, she knew that if she got admitted into the program it meant the admission representatives saw something unique in her.
Goyal found out about the program two years ago during the winter of her sophomore year. She became interested in Harvard Summer School because of what it had to offer and the challenge it would give her while she was still in high school.
“It was a little trailer to college life and I thought it would be very interesting and fun at the same time to see how that goes because you’re on your own, away from your parents, so it is really an introduction to college life,” Goyal said.
Goyal’s application process took about three weeks and she went to counselor Kristi Nigg and English teacher Toni Nelson, for advice and recommendations.
“I wanted to help her because I knew this was a dream of hers,” Nelson said. “I guess it isn’t necessarily my job to do something like that, but for people who become teachers it’s what they aspire to do. They want to help students not just in the classroom, but to be successful in life as well.”
Nelson helped Goyal with essays that needed to be submitted with the application. Nelson said colleges look for the unique and well-rounded student that can not only perform academically, but also have great character outside of the classroom.
“I wanted to help Raveena establish her own voice and tone in her essay,” Nelson said. “That is what I focused on helping her with and I am extremely proud of her being admitted. Not many of us get to step foot on Harvard’s campus, so it was quite an honor.”
Goyal took an eight credit course titled ‘Principals of Economics.’ She had four different professors, classes from 12p.m.-3p.m. Monday through Friday, and optional but highly suggested study sessions on Fridays. Goyal found herself being challenged more than she had ever been before, she said.
Goyals mother, Dakshita Gupta, was excited for her daughter to attend Harvard summer school, but at the same time was worried about Goyal being away and having to handle the pressure of taking undergrad credits with other Harvard students and worried how she would handle the experience.
“Though it was not new having Raveena away from home, this time it made me a little nostalgic as she only has one year of high school left and will be gone after that,” Gupta said. “I thought this experience would give her an overview of what college life would be like and while being at Harvard she could learn something new from people from all over the world.”
Goyal met people from all over the world including Los Angeles, New York, and even overseen in Turkey. Her seven week experience taking courses at Harvard Summer School made her realize how her life would be like in a matter of a year from now.
“It made me realize that we have things given to us on a platter,” Goyal said. “I had to take care of myself from A-Z. I had no one there to push me if I was behind. No one to even help me do laundry. It showed me how lucky I am to have parents that support me at home. They won’t be there next year and I have to do this again, but this time not for only seven weeks, but for years.”