SUMMER SCHOLARS AT CHAUTAUQUA
Honors students from community colleges across the country come to Chautauqua Institution for a week-long educational, cultural, and social capital enrichment experience (all expenses paid).​
We bring these remarkable young people together in order to:
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connect and learn from one another,
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take advantage of the educational opportunities (e.g., lectures, classes, prose & poetry readings),
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experience the cultural offerings (e.g., symphony concerts, opera, dance, and theater performances)
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meet many people who can connect them with new information, contacts, and opportunities
Scholar Experience
A Typical Day
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Wake up & have breakfast (with food provided)
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8:30 am Morning check-in ~ meet with the group to discuss day ahead & process the previous day through conversation & journaling
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Look at the weekly schedule, figure out which events you’ll attend that day*
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Attend lectures &/or other events you have selected
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Come back to the house to make yourself lunch
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Attend more events
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4:30 pm Connecting Conversations ~ Gather in the plaza with other Scholars to meet people interested in learning about you. Ask them questions about their life experience. Share contact info to stay in touch.
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6:00 pm Dinner & discussion about the day
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8:15 pm Evening Performance at the Amphitheater (symphony, ballet, etc.)
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Return to the house, hang out & connect with other Scholars
*Scholars are required to attend a certain number of lectures, arts events, and discussions during the week. They have a wide range of choices to fulfill these requirements. They also have time to visit, for example, the farmers market, library, art museums, or to take a walk by the lake or rest at the house.
I walked where porches whispered stories,
old houses leaning like wise friends.
The lake held the sky like a promise, and lectures lit fires behind my eyes.
In the hush of the amphitheater,
and Hall of Philosophy,
I learned that silence listens too.
Ideas soared, unafraid
and so did I.​
Among strangers, I shed my armor.
Vulnerability felt like opening a window.
Even the breeze carried culture,
even the stillness, meaning.
I woke early to walk the quiet shore,
footsteps soft against the sleeping earth,
watching the mist curl above the water
like a secret only morning knows.
Then came the rhythm of days
events that stretched the mind,
speeches that stitched thought to feeling,
music and meaning in every corner.
And in the in between,
laughter over meals,
long talks under hanging lights,
the warmth of people who felt like they’d always known me.
We became a found family
not by blood, but by belief,
that learning matters,
that kindness speaks loud,
that being open is brave.
Now the week folds into memory but something stays,
a thought, a feeling,
a self newly seen, and loved,
by the edge of the lake.
Thank you, Chautauqua!​
- Bawi Thawng
2025 Summer Scholar at Chautauqua