Carys Bill is from the Cardiff hub and is travelling to the United States with 15 other Seren students to take part in the Yale Young Global Scholars summer school programme. Find out more about Carys…

Tell us a little bit about yourself

I’m a Year 12 pupil at Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr and I’m doing A-Levels in maths, further maths, chemistry and physics. I’ve chosen the YYGS applied science and engineering course.

Why did you apply to the YYGS summer school programme?

I’ve never been to the US before, and had never really considered studying in America, so the summer school at Yale University seemed like an amazing opportunity. I know that the US university system is different to the UK, so I was keen to get an insight into university life there.

After researching the different courses, I really loved the sound of applied science and engineering. I’m enjoying all my A-Level subjects but I still don’t know what I’d like to study at university. I really enjoy the sciences, and I’m considering a degree in earth sciences, but I’d really like to found out more about my options. I love that the YYGS applied science and engineering course is so broad, because it means I’ll get to try out a variety of topics and hopefully found out what I’m really interested in and what I’d like to continue studying at degree level. The flexibility of the US system also means that I wouldn’t have to narrow my choices down immediately.

This summer school will definitely be something I’ll include in my personal statement next year. The range of subjects that I’ll be studying on the summer school also means that I’ll be able to talk about topics I’ve learnt in university interviews, whatever the degree I end up applying for.

Why does the US university system appeal to you?

Sport is extremely important to me; I run for Wales and I also love cycling and swimming. At American universities, there seems to be much more of a focus on the whole student and balancing academic life with extra-curricular activities. This really appeals to me, as I aim to reach a high standard in both things. The sports facilities themselves are also incredible at the top US universities. I’m really looking forward to using the Payne Whitney facilities at Yale, which includes a top quality indoor athletics track, gymnasium and swimming pool!

What are you most looking forward to about your trip?

I’m most looking forward to being completely immersed in US university life and finding out what it’s like to be a student at Yale.

I’m excited to meet new people from all over the world. We’ve already been put in WhatsApp groups based on the courses we’ve chosen and this has been a great way to get to know people before the summer school. I’m really looking forward to meeting people who are just as passionate about the sciences as me.

I’m looking forward to attending the seminars themselves. I’ve chosen topics like climate change, bicycle mechanics and Maglev trains. The topics all sound really interesting and they’re things that I wouldn’t ever get to learn about as part of the school curriculum.

In addition to the seminars and lectures, I’m also really looking forward to the ‘Capstone Project’ and the ‘Simulation’. The capstone project will be an opportunity for us to work in small groups and apply what we’ve learnt to real life situations. The focus of my project will be ‘sustainable energy and infrastructure’, which I’m very excited about as I’m very passionate about sustainability and our planet. We don’t find out the topic of the ‘Simulation’ session, which adds to the excitement!