What does Summer Search really mean to the students who experience it? For a variety of perspectives, we sat down with two brand new Summer Search Boston sophomores, Chosen and Gordon, and alum Kristine about why they joined the program, what they’re excited (and nervous!) about, and how the experience can shape your trajectory. 

For Chosen and Gordon, who just joined Summer Search this winter, becoming a Summer Searcher started with a desire to make the most of their high school years. Chosen, a sophomore at Brooke Charter School, first heard about the program through a counselor. “I mainly joined Summer Search because my counselor suggested it to me,” he says. “Then I saw that it had a mentorship program, and I figured that I needed a mentor for college…and job applications.” 

For Gordon, a sophomore at the John D. O’Bryant School, the motivation was simple: make the summer count. “I joined Summer Search mainly because I wanted to do something productive over the summer and I think it’s been the right choice, because there are so many options – I can go out camping, and I’ll have internships next year… I think it was just a great opportunity for the summer in general.” 

For alumna Kristine, who joined Summer Search 25 years ago in 2001, the draw was something she felt deep inside herself “I wanted adventure. I wanted to take a risk. I wanted to be outside of my world… it was life changing.” 

Summer Search is a long-term program, supporting young people beginning their sophomore year of high school for 7 years. To learn more about our program, go to summersearch.org/the-program. 

A defining part of the Summer Search experience is the mentorship relationships and group mentoring sessions that support students throughout high school and beyond.  But that first conversation? It can be a little strange. Chosen shared: “The first conversation is awkward…But as you keep talking in one-on-one meetings, and especially after our first group meeting, you start to know them more and build relationships.” 

For Kristine looking back, those early conversations were powerful in ways she didn’t expect. “One of the first things they asked me was, ‘What is it like to live in your shoes?’…I’d never been asked that question before…And it was like the floodgates had opened, like, wow, people care about me, they want to know about me. I think there was something inside of me that just wanted that…I left there thinking, wow, I don’t think I’ve ever felt like I belonged so much.” 

Summer Search is known for its experiential summer trips that students embark on between their sophomore and senior years of high school. These trips often push students beyond what they’ve experienced before and challenge them to tackle something completely new. 

Chosen shared that his trip will be his first time camping. Both Chosen and Gordon expressed some apprehension and nerves, as well as excitement about the coming summer. As an alum, Kristine was able to share with them that, in her experience, every participant will have something that they will be insecure or worried about, but that the bonds formed on this kind of trip mean that it will be a safe space for trying new things and that the students will have each other’s backs.  

Kristine then shared with Gordon and Chosen an experience that summed up this sense of supportive community for her. Before an international trip, her passport went missing. She assumed the opportunity was gone. “Just when I thought I wasn’t going to make it, everyone in Summer Search came together,” she says. “They assisted me, helped me, and empowered me…It made me realize—wow, I really can get through anything with community.”

Summer Search Boston Alumna Kristine on her Summer Experience trip to Paris

That mindset carried into adulthood. Now working as a nurse, Kristine says that the support system and the lessons in resilience she learned through Summer Search helped her navigate challenges after high school. At the end of her senior year, she unexpectedly lost a scholarship she had been counting on. She ended up pivoting from the school she originally thought she would attend and instead went to nursing school and discovered her passion for nursing. Her Summer Search mentors helped her realize that her value didn’t depend on any single opportunity. 

For Chosen and Gordon, the Summer Search journey is only just beginning. But like Kristine before them, they’re already rising to the challenge of new experiences, building relationships, and discovering what they’re capable of. As Summer Search Boston celebrates our 30th year, we celebrate not just 30 years of Summer Search journeys, but also 30 years of connections like the one newly forged between Chosen, Gordon, and Kristine. Our alumni community and their willingness to uplift and support the next generation of Summer Searchers is a crucial element of our success.