Dear Teenager, Yes; You Can Change the World (TKS Review Article).

Whenever you open your phone, there’s always news about a terrible situation in the world. Whether it’s associated with climate change or a deadly illness, there may be a chance that you feel powerless and frustrated that you cannot do anything for it to change, since I’m assuming you’re a teenager.

What if I tell you that this is not the case? Is there a chance for you to start an impact in the world right now?

That’s how I felt last year, frustrated that there is not enough action to take care of this world. To my surprise, a friend changed my perception of my capabilities in this certain area entirely.

Around early March last year, I joined an AP Chemistry class because I loved the teacher, who I had the previous semester. I didn’t know anyone in that class because every other student was a grade older than me.

Miraculously, I sat next to Rachel, someone who would surprise me and confuse me at the same time. She was about to completely change my life. The first time I talked to her, I thought that she was a regular high school student. But, she started talking about a program. She wasn’t specific about it at first, so I asked her questions about it. Here’s where the surprise and confusion started: she told me that she was going to a conference in Texas. Excuse me, she wasn’t simply going, she was presenting at the conference. I became extremely curious to understand how she got these opportunities. She told me that she was in The Knowledge Society (TKS).

Throughout the time that Rachel and I were talking about TKS, applications were open. I talked about it with my parents, and I applied. I got the interview. They didn’t take place until the summer, but I still had contact with Rachel until then.

I’m extremely grateful to her for showing me this opportunity and I couldn’t believe that I was granted such an incredible chance. The more I talked to Rachel, the more convinced I was that she was a genius. She has two internships and she is working to make the world a better place in the area of her passions. She has participated in multiple projects, written numerous articles, and posted several videos online. Rachel has attended several conferences and met innovative people through her podcast. She has a research paper and she is working with a local university.

Let me tell you that when I saw her experiences and her abilities, I wished to do everything she did.

TKS is how she was allowed to accomplish this.

You can go to TKS’ website and see what they label themselves to be. They share plenty of important information on how the program works, what to expect, and who the staff are. As well, their page highlights different alumni who have started their own companies or started internships in companies as prestigious as NASA.

However, in my opinion, TKS is a discovery of one’s true abilities, where ideas start to form with the same creativity as one of a child’s, where we become better, stronger, and smarter through the guidance of directors to potentially solve one of the world’s biggest problems. The learning of new technologies, useful mindsets, and leadership are constant throughout the program thanks to its constant exposure. It is made for teens who want to become the best version of themselves in their academics and personal lives.

Back to my story, I was extremely nervous about my interview. I prepared by researching as much as I could on the topic I am passionate about, which is cancer research and cancer diagnostics. I expected technical questions on the area we were interested in.

However, the interview was suspiciously simple: they asked questions about our character instead of questions about the topic we were interested in profound detail.

I was very nervous about the results, but I was more nervous about whether they were going to give me financial aid.

When I got the news that I was accepted into the program, I was extremely happy and grateful about it. It was the only thing that I thought about for weeks. It was a wonderful experience and I was glad that this had gone so well.

However, I was still stressed about the amount of financial aid that they gave me. I contacted the TKS team and they were always extremely helpful and gave me the solution my family and I needed. In my experience, communicating your issues with the TKS team will help you to have a better outcome and they will listen to your concerns if you have a similar situation to mine.

I felt extremely blessed and I was shocked at the amount of help I got when they didn’t even know me or who I was.

Now, the big thing happened: I had my first session! It was a big introduction to the program itself and I loved everything that had been shared so far. Especially the community building that they suggested.

In TKS, something that alumni and current students find valuable is the amount of possibility to meet new people to be friends with. For me, I found some of the most beautiful people through video calls that the program names “braindates.” They are a good introduction to the person, who they are, what they are interested in, and what their hobbies are. As the program progresses, it is important to find the people that you click with and understand as there will be numerous challenging projects in the future.

Through these braindates, I found my team for every project, which I will be talking about more later. I still talk to all of them now and it is incredible to me how they have become exceptional workers and people as the program progressed.

If you’re wondering what exactly happens in each weekly session, you can visit TKS’s website and find their whole program schedule. But, to simply give you a better idea of what to expect during the weekly sessions, there are three general activities:

1. Mindset of the Week

During the mindset of the week, the director shares what it is and how it can help us have a better life. Mindsets are always associated with how they can make our lives easier or enhance our abilities to reach a goal. I’m order to give us a clearer understanding of the mindset, there is an activity throughout the session that uses the mindset that was taught.

2. Activities

There are a range of activities that we do during sessions. Your director will give a set time frame to complete these. Depending on the complexity of the activity, you may be given more time, but if the activities are shorter you may be given three activities in a session. Sometimes, especially at the beginning and middle of the program, there is a task of watching Explore modules. These modules allow for a basic view of a topic using videos/articles/company websites and help people find what they’re interested in. As well, students also had to post their findings concisely on Twitter. Here’s an example of mine.

3. Reflections, Takeaways, and Action Items

At the end of each session, the director will ask the students to write down what they learned about or reflected on during the call. These include reflections, takeaways, and action items related to the topics mentioned. It is also common to share them with other students before leaving the call.

Throughout the program, there will be a constant project that every student will go through: The Focus Project. This project will be the first important challenge that can last all ten months. The Focus is one of the projects in which students have the most “freedom” to choose what they do, as all of the sections of the project are the student’s choice in the area that they are passionate about.

1. There are two types of focuses: a Technical Focus and a Scientific Focus. They are chosen based on the topic the student is interested in and they both have different meanings. This is done in this manner to ensure that the students’s choices can all adapt to the different stages of the project. In my case, I had a technical focus on cancer treatments and diagnostics. I wrote an article for the first section of the Focus project, which is called the Learn Article, which I will expand on soon.

Technical Focus

1. Learn:

The Learn Article helps acquire a technical understanding of your topic. This involves reading 2–3 research papers or taking an online course to deepen your knowledge beyond surface-level understanding.

2. Replicate #1:

Its purpose is to establish credibility by demonstrating that you have the skills to execute by building something that already exists. This hands-on experience reinforces learning and skills development.

3. Replicate #2:

This stage is made to challenge yourself by replicating a more complex project, pushing your boundaries, and learning new skills. This ensures a deeper understanding and proficiency in the topic.

4. Create:

The final stage of the Focus project is the Create which fosters creativity and mastery by developing something unique on your own. This stage emphasizes originality and the ability to innovate based on your comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Scientific Focus

1. Learn:

Its purpose is the same as the technical focus, which entails gaining a technical understanding of your topic by reading 2 to 3 research papers or taking an online course. This deepens your knowledge beyond surface-level exploration, ensuring credibility and expertise.

2. Apply:

This stage is made to gain a deeper understanding of how things work in your focus area through hands-on experimentation or simulations. This practical application builds real-world skills and insights.

3. Review:

The review stage helps develop a deep understanding of your focus area by synthesizing 8–10 research papers. This involves providing an in-depth review that can impress experts and demonstrate high-level knowledge and comprehension.

4. Idea:

Lastly, the Idea stage is the most challenging as it helps you think independently and develop a new idea or hypothesis by connecting the knowledge gained throughout your focus. This stage emphasizes ideation, innovation, and the ability to propose novel solutions or advancements in the field.

There is also a chance to certify your focus, which means that you get professionals and experts to approve of your projects, helping create higher credibility for your work through outreach tactics that the program teaches and values.

In my experience, the biggest reason I enjoyed the program was because of the challenging work that they made students do while being with innovative people who have the desire to become better. In other words, new students have the opportunity to work with like-minded, ambitious people.

The main important projects are several Hackathons, two Challenges, and the Moonshot. Each of these projects requires a different set of abilities and a different perspective on the issue, allowing students to further enhance their abilities in problem-solving, time management, teamwork, and leadership.

My favourite project was the first Challenge, where my team and I proved to ourselves what capabilities each had. Moreover, it was the first real leadership role I have had. To begin, I was very stressed about the fact that if I did not do a good job as a Project Manager (PM), I would not be able to allow my team for a successful outcome. So I took it upon myself to make sure that did not happen.

I felt overly responsible for any obstacle that occurred in my time. To avoid this, my team and I established rules and expectations that each team member should follow throughout the entire process. My goal was to learn and to win the challenge. So, I started planning and I was logical within the time frame that we had.

Three of the major things that helped the most during this specific project were having extremely productive calls, effective communication and mindful use of time. In a team, having productive discussions can help reach the goal much faster. If the conversation was getting extremely long and it remained in the same place, I would interfere and tell people that they should be able to decide in the next five minutes. Looking back at it, I think I was a bit brutal, but it ensured us the learning we wished for and the win we wanted.

That is just one example of why the program was so beneficial for me.

There is so much more.

Being in TKS allows someone to aim for their passions and wishes while being in an environment of extremely smart and logical individuals. I am talking about directors. To me, my director helped enhance entirely the whole program because of his dedication, problem-solving skills, and analysis. Having a mentor who is interested in the area you want to develop skills allows you to become curious and ambitious for your goals.

With that being said, a director will not hand the solutions on a silver platter if the students do not show any type of initiative. Showing that you put in the work to achieve your goals makes a difference in the experience that you will get out of the program. If you do not put in the work, you will not get anything out of it. That is something that is not only true in TKS but in life in general. TKS just clearly portrays that fact.

Think of TKS as a huge tool that exercises your brain, similar to a gym. Your director is your coach who will help you with your issues, but most of the work will have to be done on the student’s part. Do not let this opportunity disappear only because of laziness. Even if you only put 5% in, you will get 5% back. The idea is simply to have a bigger number of effort put in constantly.

I do want to point out that this program is hard. It will be challenging, which should be a given because that is what a student signs up for. There may be instances where it becomes hard to deal with the workload or your teammates, even TKS staff, but everything ends up working out as it should in the end through the necessary communication.

Overall, TKS was a wonderful experience because it gave me skills and taught me so many things that I apply to my life constantly. I have gained friends from multiple continents who have a similar mindset and goals to me, which also allows me to learn about other people’s cultures and their experiences. I have no regrets about joining this program because every benefit outweighs several harsh situations.

To put it briefly, TKS has shaped me into the person I am today.

TKS helps students realize that the impossible is possible, the mind is the one that refrains it from happening.

Now, will you be trying to change the world too? Or do you simply want to feel frustration for a bit longer?