Turn your ideas into impact.

Impact2Insight is designed for middle and high school students (grades 6–12) who are curious about their communities and passionate about creating meaningful change. Students spend the summer working on real-world challenges — from hunger and housing insecurity to public policy and community access — using data, research, technology, and design thinking to develop solutions that matter. No prior experience is required. We welcome students from all backgrounds who are eager to learn, collaborate, think creatively, and make an impact in their local and surrounding communities.

Tuition is $800 (Early Bird $650) for the full six-week program and includes instruction, mentorship, field research experiences, technology resources, and project materials. We believe every student should have access to transformative learning opportunities. Full and partial scholarships are available, and financial need is never a barrier to participation. Our scholarship application is integrated directly into the standard student application for a simple and accessible process.

Impact2Insight is a primarily in-person, full-day experience designed around collaboration, fieldwork, and real community engagement. Students work in cohorts alongside mentors, community partners, and peers to investigate local challenges through field visits, interviews, data collection, mapping, and project-based learning. Much of the experience depends on being present in the community and working together in real time. Tuesday and Thursday may include supervised remote project work or community-based field research assignments connected to each cohort's project focus.

Each day combines hands-on learning, collaboration, and real-world community impact. Mornings focus on workshops, technical skill-building, and mentorship in areas such as community data analysis, mapping, coding, public speaking, research methods, design thinking, and policy exploration. Afternoons are dedicated to team-based project work, field visits, neighborhood research, interviews, and collaboration with local organizations and community partners. Fridays conclude with a cohort-wide showcase where students present weekly findings, prototypes, maps, visualizations, and community insights while receiving feedback from mentors and peers.

Absolutely — that's the foundation of the program. Every student project is developed in collaboration with a real community partner, such as food banks, nonprofits, advocacy groups, or local organizations working on issues like hunger, housing insecurity, access, and public policy. Students are building real research, maps, dashboards, outreach ideas, data insights, and community solutions that organizations can actively use after the program ends. At the conclusion of the program, each project is formally presented and handed off to the partner organization for continued implementation and impact.

The application process takes approximately 30 minutes and is designed to help us understand who you are, what inspires you, and how you want to make an impact in your community. Applicants will submit a short personal essay, two examples of work or projects they are proud of, and one reference from a teacher, mentor, coach, or community member. There are no GPA cutoffs or standardized test score requirements. We are looking for students who are curious, collaborative, motivated to learn, and committed to creating meaningful change in their communities.

Yes. Student safety, accountability, and support are central to the program experience. Students are supervised by program staff and mentors from arrival through pickup each day, including during workshops, field visits, project sessions, and community activities. All mentors, instructors, and adult volunteers are carefully vetted and background-checked prior to participating in the program. Students are never left unsupervised during program hours, and all activities are conducted within structured, monitored environments.

Selective colleges increasingly look beyond grades and test scores for students who demonstrate authentic leadership, initiative, collaboration, and real-world impact. Through Impact2Insight, students spend six weeks working on meaningful community challenges alongside nonprofits, mentors, and local stakeholders. They develop tangible projects, conduct real research, analyze community data, present findings publicly, and contribute solutions that organizations can continue using after the program ends. Students leave with a substantial real-world project experience, portfolio-ready work products, strong mentorship connections, and a compelling story of sustained community engagement — qualities that admissions officers consistently value.

The program runs Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are in-person collaboration days with workshops, technical skill-building, guest speakers, team collaboration, and project development. Tuesday and Thursday are remote and field research days for community-based research, interviews, neighborhood observations, partner check-ins, and supervised remote work. Families receive weekly email updates, project progress summaries, upcoming field visit information, showcase invitations, and direct access to program staff for questions or concerns.