A Look Inside Hopkins’ Special Programs

Elona Spiewak ’26 Assistant Features Editor

Hopkins offers many opportunities for student enrichment, from sports to clubs to community service. Additionally, Hopkins provides specific specialized courses for students with certain passions. Two Hopkins-specific programs are the Hopkins Authentic Research Program in Science (HARPS) and the Young Apprentice Writer’s Program (YAWP).

HARPS is a year-long science course that also has a summer component. During term one, students learn laboratory techniques for physics, chemistry, and biology that they will apply later on. In term two, students work on a project of their choice. Over the summer, each student applies for a lab at a university and works in that lab throughout the summer. Finally, the culmination of the course is a symposium in the fall in which all of the HARPS students present their projects and research.

For YAWP, the format is a bit different. There are two courses: a one-term spring elective and a summer internship. Both experiences focus on each writer improving their technique and creating a final project. With the help of teachers, professionals in the writing field, and peers, students build up a portfolio of pieces. Both of these courses culminate in a reading of the student’s work in the fall.

Students and faculty express that the two programs provide real-world involvement in these fields. Director of HARPS Priscilla Encarnação says, “There is no other program at Hopkins that actually teaches [students] how to be a scientist or think like a scientist or have the skills of a scientist.” She believes the biggest benefit is that “[HARPS] grows their network and connects them to so many new people.” Finally, she says, “[students] get to experience being a scientist for the summer and some of them really like it and some of them find out this isn’t for [them].” Caryn Kim ’26, a current HARPS student, says, “HARPS not only ensures you get an internship , but also prepares you to actually be able to participate in a lab.”

Director of YAWP Brad Czepiel feels one benefit of the program is that students “can spend time doing what they love and can get professional guidance” and “can learn about what it’s like being a real writer.” Henry Weinstein ’26, who participated in YAWP this past summer, says the biggest benefit is that “you get a lot of mileage writing.” He calculated that he wrote over thirty thousand words.

Unlike most other activities, these programs require a rigorous application process and review. Only a certain number of students are admitted into each: HARPS accepts 24 students while YAWP can accommodate up to eight. These applications require a lot of time and effort from applicants. Julia Grauer ’27 says the HARPS “application process discourages students from joining. It is an unnecessary amount of work just to apply.” Molly Powers ’26 said on the new HARPS application process, “I think it’s good kids can’t cheat with AI as easily.”

While these are prestigious opportunities, students still feel there are some drawbacks. Weinstein says he wishes there was a “more concrete ending to [YAWP] besides the reading.” He elaborates, “I wish there was like a special “Daystar” edition where they printed stuff from the YAWP, whether it is like an excerpt or not or some site on the LMS where stuff could be read.” Emily Fridman ’26 noted that in HARPS, “We only have a third of a term to cover a field of science, which can be challenging because we’ve never done anything at a speed like that.”

Overall, Hopkins students strongly feel HARPS and YAWP are worthwhile programs. Weinstein said, “I absolutely recommend [YAWP]! It’s a lot of fun and you are going to leave it wanting to do it again.” Kim recommends HARPS because she feels like “it is preparing [her] for the real world.”

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A Look Inside Hopkins’ Special Programs