Future Leaders Institute (FLI)

This was one of the best two weeks of my life I really enjoyed it.

One of the greatest experiences of my life! I am so grateful I did it!

The professors were so genuine and kind!

The professors really cared about us and taught in a way that was informative and entertaining.

I appreciated the focus and attention they put towards us. I feel like most professors of their prestige wouldn't give so much undivided attention to the students.

My favorite experience was engaging with and meeting the other students at camp. FLI always attracts a group of intelligent, fun, and friendly kids. It was great to debate, learn, discuss, and become friends with all of them.

I loved the daily routines, but also enjoyed the fun little trips we had like Mendum's and the Dairy Bar.

[Our child] was blown away by the opportunity to socialize and chat with professors. He felt heard and valued. Many of his fondest memories are of the conversations he had while there. And from what I can tell, the material was pitched at just the right level.

My child had nothing but wonderful things to say about both the professors and the TAs.

FLI was life changing for [our son] - an immersive experience that engaged and inspired all parts of him. When he got back, he had a kind of glow - the look every parent hopes their kid will eventually have. The one that says, "I have found my people, my place, my thing, my self." We were lucky he came home!

[Our daughter] is still aglow... it was a tremendous experience.

It was a remarkable experience... the schedule was very well done to provide the students enough time to enjoy their time in Durham and get to know each other out of class.

It was an outstanding value. Searching for similar programs showed a typical cost of $5-8K for a week long course. FLI was very affordable.

The discussions were great and I loved how it didn’t end in the classroom. The debate was great and it was an awesome addition along with the end of the week congress hearing [on the financial meltdown of 2008].

Professors Smith & Smith are outstanding instructors, [my child’s] peers engaging, and the facilities a great showcase on your part for UNH. Cathy Leach was top notch, too. Will definitely carve out a week next summer if a similar program runs again.

After UNH, [our child] went to a pre-college program at Brown University. He thought the UNH program exceeded the Brown program by far!

I also want to express to you how amazing FLI was and that I took away so much knowledge from that experience.

The whole thing from start to finish was outstanding… The staff were so skilled and full of passion both for their subjects but also in terms of the whole process of teaching. They both seemed to really enjoy young people and made learning both exciting and fun from everything [my child] shared.

The experience couldn't have been any better.

It was an absolutely incredible experience and I pity those who will not be able to participate in a program such as I did.

Some of the best parts of the week [were] the conversations and debates; this allowed for interesting topics and engaging discussion.

[I loved] going to the pond, and learning about corruption within government, businesses, and corruption and the different systems like libertarianism, socialism…and capitalism.
 
During my time at FLI, I most enjoyed learning about such a wide range of topics while meeting so many new and interesting people. It was interesting to challenge myself to think about and discuss issues that I had not considered before the program, and leave with an understanding of them.
 
My favorite experience at FLI was the open debate and discussion of big problems. Being able to debate issues with people who had strongly differing philosophies opened and expanded my mind in a way that has never happened anywhere else. In particular, I enjoyed the organized debates where participants were separated into different sides.
 
I really enjoyed the discussions we had at mealtimes amongst ourselves and with the TAs, Professors, and guest lecturers.
 
I enjoyed every second of my experience.
 
Communications leading up to and during the program were very helpful. We were especially appreciative of the daily updates. We looked forward to reading them and felt confident that our daughter was learning and growing under the direction of the FLI team.
 
Amazing and [our son] can't wait until next year, he had a fantastic time.
 
Our daughter absolutely loved her time at FLI. She was challenged academically and personally to grow and think outside of the box on many issues she had not previously encountered. She loved her interactions with the professors, mentors and other students. As parents we really believe that our daughter's experience at FLI provided her with insight into the intensity of study and expectations of quality work at the college level. She has expressed interest in returning to the program next summer. We were all very pleased with her experience.
 
FLI was a great value for the cost.
 
We really liked everything about the structure of the camp. We especially liked the fact that the kids were not coddled in the process and the topics were serious and relevant. Even if they never come in contact with the discussion topics again, they were required to independently research, discuss and respectfully disagree and debate with facts and not blind emotion. We believe this is a skill too often lacking in our society. We hope that experiences like FLI will encourage our daughter to always seek to educate herself on all sides of an issue and form opinions founded in knowledge and to learn to disagree respectfully. We would like to see the topics continue to be centered on relevant issues that affect not only today's society, but also will potentially impact future generations.