Project Think - Claremont, California

Yanira V.

Project Think is a wonderful summer program geared at kids with diverse learning needs and styles. My boys attended last year and they loved the program, my older son is a 12 year old Honor Society student who is in gifted classes and my 9 year old is a boy on the high autism spectrum that thrives in a less typical learning environment. Both of the boys had so much fun and learned a lot last summer helping make their following school year a success! I have experience with the John Hopkins Talented Youth Program and the teaching method at Project Think is pleasantly similar. The children learn hands on in a non-traditional environment that they enjoy. Really they don't even realize just how much they are learning! The teachers are credentialed master instructors who are happy to be there and it shows in the students! My kids are so excited to be going back this year and I am excited for them, as long as I can, I will keep Project Think as part of our summers. YV, mother of 5

Anthony P.

had the pleasure of being connected to the Project Think (PT) family as both a camper, teacher, and now part of the greater alumni community.

As a student, my parents found Project Think after our long time summer camp of over a decade closed. I had a core group of friends there and thought I was going to struggle to come into my own into a new environment. PT provided me with an introduction to skills, arts, and computer science that wasn't available growing up to me. I had the chance to explore creative sides of my brain that I had never been pushed to reveal as a young teen (art, drama, and literature), learn about this new technology called the Internet and email, and have the balance of extra circulars in the afternoon including swimming and computer lab (art, design, gaming, program knowledge, and hardware). In the scene of the Claremont Colleges, the facilities were top notch and we had incredible instructors. Little did I realize that the rotational structure would be once of the best preparations for junior high school in time management, exposure to performance arts, and critical thinking. Now as a parent myself, I'm seeking out programs like this for my boys as I was never bored and gave me places to grow in a safe and inspirational setting.

After I graduated the program, I'd built a strong appreciation of the staff, the culture of inclusive learning, and it was a no-brainer as a varsity student athlete locally with an interest in early childhood education to apply to work there. Instead of working a traditional retail job, I had the chance to open the eyes of early learners in a kindergarten program, assist as a tutor in the computer science courses, and instruct an age group in the pool to perfect technique, basic water safety, and not forget how to have fun.

Since my time at Project Think, pre-and-post social media started, I've stayed close with many of my closest friends as it helped make high school a smaller place, one ended up going to my same college (coincidence), and now as parents we bring many of our same values that we learned (and talk tricks and tips) to make sure we raise thoughtful and well-balanced little ones.