Kokosing Young Scholars Program

The Kokosing Young Scholars Program is Kokosing Institute’s inaugural educational initiative, designed to bridge the gap between high school curiosity and college-level research rigor. The program pairs college student researchers with high school students to demystify the research process and equip participants with the analytical, methodological, and writing skills expected in higher education.

Through hands-on workshops, mentorship, and guided projects, Young Scholars learn how to formulate research questions, evaluate sources, design surveys, analyze data, and communicate findings with clarity and confidence. Rather than treating research as an abstract academic exercise, the program emphasizes real-world relevance—showing students how evidence can inform public debate, policy, and media.

At its core, the Young Scholars Program is about access and preparation. Many students arrive at college expected to “already know” how research works. Kokosing’s model levels that playing field by giving motivated high school students early exposure to the tools, expectations, and intellectual norms of collegiate research, while allowing college mentors to sharpen their own teaching, leadership, and analytical skills.

The program reflects Kokosing Institute’s broader mission: to build durable pipelines between youth experience and serious research, and to empower students not just to consume knowledge, but to produce it.

Participants & Student Researcher Team

The inaugural cohort of the Kokosing Young Scholars Program includes the following high school participants and college student mentors:

Avani Mitra

Major Starr

Maya Dang

Sonia Hochschild

Mina Fitzpatrick

Alina Wang

Sophia Lee

Hillary Phang

Ava Lau

Mirabella Sibbitt

Holden Fischer