For the second summer in a row, HPU invited hundreds of talented 12- to 16- year-olds from all over the country to live on the Hawai‘i Loa campus as part of the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth residential program. CTY asked Dr. Carlos Juárez, associate professor of political science and acting dean of HPU’s College of International Studies, to return for his second year to teach a class on geopolitics.

“ It’s a combination of lectures, group activities, seminars, discussions, and field trips,” said Juárez.

He added that he had designed the course to encourage critical thinking about contemporary world politics and the challenges of managing security in a changing world.

“ We’re looking at conflict and peacemaking, and how policy makers have to make decisions about these issues,” said Juárez.

Others classes included cryptology, oceanography, logic, and essay writing. “ “CTY brings together all these people from different places,” said Juárez. “They’re fast learners, and they just devour anything you give them.”

The small-class settings of five to 18 students helped the students to get the one-on-one attention “They really thrive in this environment,” said Juárez. “These kids are very open-minded, and they come to learn.”