Matt, 16, is here for his fourth summer at Explo, and his second at Explo at Yale. He keeps coming back because the courses and culture here allow you to explore whatever interests you may have and to truly be yourself.
So this is your fourth year at Explo?
Yes. I was at Explo at Wellesley for two years and this is my second year at Yale.
How have you liked the Explo experience overall?
Amazing. It’s been a huge part of my life, teaching me how to grow up with things coming at you from all directions, with support, with challenges. You learn to cope with everything, while being able to do it in an environment that’s really comfortable. I’ve definitely grown a lot during my time here.
How does it compare to Explo at Wellesley?
There’s so much more freedom here — more options, more courses, longer hours, more free time, which makes the overall experience a lot better. As for the city — you know every urban environment has its issues, but you don’t encounter much of the negative things about New Haven. You see the campus, a bunch of nice people, and that’s what surrounds you. I feel pretty darn safe here, protected by a great group of staff and a great group of kids.
How are the staff?
The staff are amazing. What I see at Explo that I haven’t seen at any other program is that the staff really try to personalize themselves with you — they all have the ability and patience to do that for every student. It helps every kid so much, especially if the kids are shy or nervous because they’re brand new to Explo.
What courses are you taking?
I’m taking DJ’ing + Music Production, Graphic Design, Concert Production, and Tennis. I’ve been DJ’ing for about a year, and I love pretty much all types of music — except for country and heavy metal.
How do the course here compare to school?
There’s a much broader selection of courses to choose from here. The point of Explo is to help you decide what you want to do in college — and in life — while you’re still in high-school, and sometimes even before that. So it allows you to choose and you have multiple years to explore different topics and see how you like them. And if you decided a certain topic isn’t what you want to do later in life, you can always come back next year and try different things. Because you have shorter classes here than in school, the content is more focused — so what you do get is a huge introduction to each topic. You can really get a feel for if you’re going to like it or not. Also you get the enthusiasm of the instructors who teach the courses, and they’re learning from mentors so you get the benefits of their experience as well.
Speaking of college, do you have any thoughts about university?
Realistically, I’m thinking of majoring in mechanical or electrical engineering and minoring in music production. That might change if I really get into production earlier. If I did apply to an Ivy League school, it might be Dartmouth for engineering, otherwise I might choose Berklee if I get into music enough. But I haven’t really taken the time yet to explore what’s out there.
What is your favorite thing about Explo?
The people and the environment. What I’ve found is that it’s impossible not to make at least ten new friends. You’re going to connect with at least three people in each of your courses, and it’s the same with your living group. Then you’re just going to find a bunch of random people that you’re suddenly going to become friends with. If you think that back home you’re shy or not popular that completely goes away when you get here. It’s impossible to not make friends, and the fact that that’s so true, and so powerful, allows people to truthfully say that Explo lives up to what it claims to be and what it stands for. Explo’s reputation really holds true to what it says.
What kind of hobbies do you do?
I like to DJ, play tennis, play video games, play guitar, and I like to swim — not competitively. Just in the ocean by my house. I’ve started doing covers of songs to start the production process that I want to get more into. I also love to sing and act.
How would you describe Explo to someone who’s never heard about it?
Well, it really depends on the person, because people can describe it in so many different ways. Some people can describe it as a safe haven where you get a clean slate and all of your problems you may have at home or at school completely go away. You have a completely new opportunity to make new mistakes, and even if you do the people here are accepting enough to give you so many chances to find out who you really are. So Explo could be a safe haven, it could be a home — I’d definitely call Explo a home. It could be compared to a camp but it’s so much more — it shows people from all over the world how to be themselves and how to be proud of what they’re involved in and what they do.
Do you have anything else you’d like to add?
I’d say that Explo is one of the greatest places on Earth. The fact that so many people from the world are able to come and experience is very lucky, and the fact that Explo is so open and open-minded to let people from different countries and continents come and explore is a really amazing thing. To allow young kids to come together — especially with all the world’s problems and cultural differences — it’s a great place to see that even though people have significant cultural differences, we really aren’t that different from each other. There’s really nothing to be afraid of if everyone can just be accepting of each other, and Explo is a perfect place to learn that.
Lucas Penzeymoog