Humanities symposium gives high schoolers a taste of the University

Princeton High School senior Adam Segaller watched for years as his classmates traveled to the University's campus to take math and science classes.

But this weekend Segaller — a student whose strengths lie mostly in the humanities — was able to step into a Princeton classroom for the first time as part of the Princeton Humanities Symposium.

The University hosted the event Friday and Saturday to recognize exceptional high school seniors such as Segaller who are talented in the humanities. Sixty-five students from high schools across the country were nominated by their teachers to attend the two-day symposium, with the University covering participants' travel expenses.

"What we set out to do was to create an event that would recognize talented students with strong interests in the arts and humanities," said Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel, who organized the symposium.

High school students attended lectures and participated in mock precepts by professors from several departments.

"I was really blown away by what they said," Segaller said, referring to the precept he attended led by Professor Michael Jennings, chair of the Department of Germanic Languages and Literatures.

Princeton High School senior Elizabeth Hyon, who attended precepts on music and film, said her music background made the classes even more enjoyable. "I've been playing the piano and flute my entire life," she said. "The precepts were very cool."

Continuing education

Professor Anthony Grafton, director of the Davis Center for Historical Studies, gave a lecture to the students Friday night on Berlin in 1928.

"As far as we know, no one has ever done this before," Grafton said of the symposium. "I was happy to pitch in." As part of the symposium Saturday, humanities-related University student groups were invited to set up tables at an activities fair for the high school students in the Frist Campus Center.

Though the symposium was open to students who were not planning on applying to Princeton, Malkiel said the event showcased the humanities resources available at the University to prospective students. "We hope that these students have appreciated what we have here," she said.

"I certainly didn't think of [Princeton] as a humanities school," said Katherine Collier, a high school senior in Chestertown, Md. "I think I've realized how much learning in the humanities there is here."