Many Dreyfoos students are spending their summers learning abroad, gaining community service or relaxing, but very few can say they spent a week living at an Ivy League University. Communications junior Chayse Banks was recommended by Dreyfoos faculty to be a part of the National Student Leadership Conference, a pre-college summer program that works with students to gain and improve leadership skills in their students.

“We did a ropes course, where we had to figure out a way to get the entire group across a tight rope,” Banks said. “We all had to work together to get across to build teamwork.”

Banks attended lectures on how to not only set goals, but also on how to achieve them.

“We went to leadership conferences where we learned how to set a vision for yourself,” Banks said. “We also learned how to grow as a person and become the people we want to be in the future and trying to achieve that.”

Despite the prestige that the name Harvard University has on its shoulders, the environment was very relaxed and easy to learn in. Speakers often came and shared inspiring stories; students were visited by a man who was held up by the Taliban when he was staying at a hotel. On top of the whole experience, Banks recalls the people she met as one of the best components.

“Everyone wanted to get to know each other, and the people I met were absolutely amazing,” Banks said. “There was a girl from India and people from all over the country.”

The National Student Leadership Conference gave Banks a sense of security as she learned that passion is a key part in choosing a career.

“I was always one of those people who had no idea what they were going to be doing [in the future] and it just became clear that I have to do the job I want for me, not for anyone else Banks said. “ I was really unsure about that before.”