Campus & Community

The road trip of a lifetime

4 min read

Scholars from Brooklyn’s Mott Hall Bridges Academy visit Harvard for a sampling of college life

Scholars from Mott Hall Bridges Academy in Brooklyn, N.Y., were thrust in the spotlight when photographer Brandon Stanton, the founder of the popular blog “Humans of New York,” featured eighth-grader Vidal Chastanet describing his admiration for principal Nadia Lopez. The post went viral and a fundraiser was launched to bring the students on a tour of Harvard.

The students arrived on the Harvard campus Thursday for a slate of activities built for them. In coordination with Harvard College Admissions and Financial Aid and Project TEACH, an early college-awareness program at Harvard that demystifies higher education and advocates that it is an affordable and attainable aspiration, the scholars got a sense of what college life is really like, exploring hands-on learning activities across campus, from the American Repertory Theater to the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

Scholars from Mott Hall Bridges Academy arrive on the Harvard campus for a slate of activities built for them. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
Scholars from Brooklyn’s Mott Hall Bridges Academy, including Lakiyah Berry (from left), Madelyne Martinez, and Aniesha King, arrive in the Harvard Art Museums’ Calderwood Courtyard. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
Inside the Harvard Art Museums’ Calderwood Courtyard, Jesus Moran ’16 (from left), Dominic Ferrante ’15, and Rabb Curatorial Fellow Chris Molinski welcome scholars from Brooklyn’s Mott Hall Bridges Academy. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
Mott Hall Bridges Academy principal Nadia L. Lopez addresses the crowd. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
Harvard President Drew Faust welcomes the Mott Hall Bridges Academy students. Scholars raise their hands. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
Photographer Brandon Stanton, the founder of the popular blog “Humans of New York,” listens to speakers during the welcoming ceremony inside the Harvard Art Museums. Stephanie Mitchell/Harvard Staff Photographer
Scholars climb the stairs to Agassiz Theater to hear Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana speak. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
Sixth-grader Kayla Speller listens to a talk by Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
Students pack Agassiz Theater to hear Harvard College Dean Rakesh Khurana. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
Davon Mahki and Micah Witherspoon, sixth-graders from Mott Hall Bridges Academy, are pictured inside Agassiz Theater. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
Alice Hu ’18 leads a group of Mott Hall Bridges Academy scholars on a tour starting in Radcliffe Yard. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
Brendan Shea, the manager for American Repertory Theater’s Community Education and Community Programs, gives a behind-the-scenes tour of Harvard’s Tony Award-winning theater to show how professional artists and designers work with Harvard students to create their shows. Assistant Props Master Rebecca Helgeson works in the foreground as students pass by. Rose Lincoln/Harvard Staff Photographer
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student Tessa Montague (far left) shows Mott Hall Bridges Academy students Tukoya Boone (from left), Ashanti Taylor, and Sincere Cisco how zebrafish are used to research embryonic development inside the Biology Labs at Harvard. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Mott Hall Bridges Academy students Aaron Abdulmalik (at microscope) and Jermont Haines learn about the uses of zebrafish. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Jermont Haines (from left), Tukoya Boone, and Aaron Abdulmalik wear lab coats inside the Biology Labs at Harvard. Pictured in the background is Zion Edwards (from left), Tukoya Boone, Halle Bohner, and Bianca Nfonoyim ’15. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Jermont Haines (from left), Tukoya Boone, and Aaron Abdulmalik get a lesson in zebrafish from Graduate School of Arts and Sciences student Tessa Montague. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Kimberly Maddy (from left), Davon Barrett, and Kern Purchas take in a talk inside the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer
Kadeem Gilbert of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences gives a talk on plant-insect interactions to Mott Hall Bridges Academy students inside the Harvard Museum of Natural History. Kris Snibbe/Harvard Staff Photographer