The second half of SILCS has gone by very quickly. Dr. Betty Neal Crutcher of Wheaton College spoke to the students on Wednesday, June 16 about mentoring and their plans for the future. The next day, Drs. Sam and Alex Vasquez (from Dartmouth College and Wheaton College, respectively) spoke about their life as a couple in higher ed. That day was also the last day of classes for the students.
On Friday, June 18, the students went on their final campus trip. This trip was to Brown University, where they went on a tour of the campus, including the John Carter Brown Library, the Sarah Doyle Women’s Center, the Third World Center, and the English Department, and finally visited the John Hay Library.
This week, the students have been working hard on their papers and presentations while taking a GRE Preparation workshop with Kaplan.
Yesterday Dr. Gregory Colón-Semenza from the University of Connecticut came to speak to the students in the morning. In the afternoon was our graduate recruitment fair, where directors of graduate studies from a number of different institutes came to speak individually with the students. In attendance were:
Dr. Chris Okonkwo from the University of Missouri
Dr. Bret Benjamin and Dr. Pat Chu from the SUNY University at Albany
Dr. Tim Bewes and Dr. Rolland Murray from Brown University
Dr. Ed Larkin from the University of Delaware
Dr. Dovev Levine-Leung from the University of New Hampshire
Dr. Elda Maria Roman from Stanford University
Dr. Nicole Aljoe from Northeastern University
Dr. Badia Ahad from Loyola University Chicago
Dr. Erin Mackie from Syracuse University
and Dr. Darryl Dickson-Carr from Southern Methodist University
This morning, the students presented their research in a final symposium. Tomorrow, everyone will be heading home for some much needed rest. Thanks to everyone involved for making this a fantastic year!
Sunday morning dawned bright and early with a trip to 
Monday morning was the first day of classes, despite the holiday. Dr. Robyn Warhol-Down of The Ohio State University joined SILCS once again as the instructor. On Tuesday, Dr. Dagmawi Woubshet of Cornell University gave a lecture to the students on his research.
With the second week of the Summer Institute just about half over, the students are really settling in to the routine on campus. On Friday there was an exam, an engaging discussion with Dr. Betty Neal Crutcher, and Chinese food in the Multicultural Center on campus. Friday ended with ice cream and Scrabble, but the students had to get up early Saturday morning for their visit to Brown University.
On Sunday there was an optional trip to McCoy Stadium to see the Pawtucket Red Sox play against the Buffalo Bisons. The day was even hotter than the day before, with temperatures just under three digits, and many of the students opted to stay home with their homework instead. For those who did go, however, it was a fun day at the ball park, even though the home team lost.
This morning the students headed out to Harvard University to meet with the English department and visit the