2017 Yale Young African Scholars (YYAS) Program Kicks Off

On July 29, the Yale Young African Scholars (YYAS) program kicks off its series of three sessions in Accra, Ghana; Kigali, Rwanda; and Harare, Zimbabwe.

YYAS is a high-intensity program that brings together African secondary school students for a cost-free seven-day residential program designed to introduce students to the demanding U.S. university and financial aid application process and requirements. YYAS hosts programs in Ghana, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe and soon will welcome 300 African high school students into its growing alumni network.

“Several things make the YYAS program unique and special, but chief among them are its pan-African nature and the fact that the program is free for all participants,” said Laura Kaub, YYAS Program Manager. “This makes YYAS accessible to high-potential students from all over the continent, regardless of their socioeconomic status.”

Administered by the Yale Young Global Scholars Program and building off that model of interdisciplinary academic curriculum, YYAS participants attend lectures led by prominent Yale faculty, seminars developed by Yale student instructors, and experiential exercises designed to augment their leadership skills. Participants engage in robust intellectual exchanges that are crucial to understanding Africa’s most pressing challenges and opportunities.

In addition to the introduction to university application processes, Yale student-led courses, and leadership training, YYAS participants also receive standardized test preparation lessons during the program, which are designed especially for African test-takers new to exams like the SAT.

The following are hosting nations and program dates for this year’s YYAS Program:
Ghana: July 29 – August 4
Rwanda: August 7 – August 13
Zimbabwe: August 18 – August 24

All YYAS participants are citizens of an African country between the ages of 14 – 18 and currently attend school on the African continent. This year’s cohort includes students from over 30 different African nations who attend over 230 different secondary schools.

Thanks to the generous support of the Higherlife Foundation as well as contributions from Yale’s MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies, YYAS is free of cost to all participants and offers travel stipends for students from low-income backgrounds.

Further support for the YYAS program comes from partnerships with youth and education access-focused organizations working in each host country. Ahaspora in Ghana, Imbuto Foundation in Rwanda, and Education Matters in Zimbabwe run parallel Educators’ Conferences for teachers, headmasters, and advisors from African secondary schools in their regions. These conferences introduce the educators to university guidance strategies and resources so that they can offer support to all the students at their schools who may want to pursue tertiary education abroad. By equipping both students and educators with information about university access, the YYAS program hopes to magnify its ability to help and support students across all Africa.

For additional information about YYAS or our partners, please visit africanscholars.yale.edu or contact us at african.scholars@yale.edu. Also, please follow YYAS on Twitter and Facebook to keep abreast of ongoing program news.

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the 2017 Yale Young African Scholars (YYAS)