When I was a young teen, 14 going on 15, I was welcomed into a program for young but salvageable misfits who were too bored for their own good and had a propensity for troublemaking.

Some college Psych professor in Zürich figured, if they put these young turds in a mentally challenging environment, as in put us in an accelerated college program, they wouldn't be so bored anymore and straighten out. Lo and behold, most of us actually did straighten out.

Fast forward to the future, I've known my lawyer, accountant, dentist and physician since I was 15. In fact, there's a whole network of us who still get in touch to support and benefit each other in a professional capacity.

We also contribute to the program that helped us become who we are today. My way of giving back is I welcome business and engineering intern candidates from the program under my wing to help them develop worth ethics and hone their skills.

Probably one of the best things that happened to me. It gave me a fighting chance, direction and ultimately found purpose within myself. I now serve the community that once helped me.

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💕

Love this.

🫂

That’s beautiful

This is awesome! What’s the name of the program?

There wasn't some fancy name. We were just misfits who generally didn't qualify for college by going through the normal process. Decent brains but troublesome. I guess in English it would be called an Intensive Degree Program.

I even found photographs

Fantastic note AK both in being open and honest about your past and also, in helping those who are in the situation you once was🙏🏻🫂.

I’m a strong proponent of programs like this because some people are simply wired differently they need constant mental stimulation challenge to thrive. If they don’t find their calling early on, they can end up feeling aimless and frustrated.

The early internet has been another heaven when not having access to these program , a goldmine for intellectually restless people. access to unlimited knowledge, opensource projects puzzle , niche communities, problem-solving challenges that normal education fails to provide. Only missing the structure

I agree on the structure because hell, I really needed it.

I’m already pre-planning for my future kids to have access to a structured, challenging environment whether for multiple years or maybe just one year , Whether they choose to live with that structure long-term or not doesn’t matter , I’ll support either way but at least they’ll always have that in their toolbox when they need it

Also I think Troublemaking is often just a late stage symptom of lack of mental challenge and productive engagement of curiosity and intelligence

Thanks for sharing this.

Same. On all fronts

Awesome.

The fact that someone in the administration spent energy to give a more fiting opportunity to some kids and the fact that the administration indeed implemented it, is worth mentioning at least. That would have never happened to other administrations (in other countries).

Well done Switzerland 🇨🇭 on this one 👍

circular economy

What program was that ?