Program Assistants

Our Talented Staff

Each summer we bring together a very select group of outstanding college and graduate students through a nationwide talent search for Program Assistants for the Great Books Summer Program. Program Assistants are chosen from hundreds of applicants based upon their academic excellence, intellectual enthusiasm, outgoing personality, experience in working with younger people, and maturity.

Our Program Assistant staff hails from colleges and universities such as University of Chicago, Wesleyan, Yale, Harvard, Stanford, Amherst, Oxford, and Oberlin, and have included Rhodes Scholars, Fulbrights, and PhD students. In addition to a shared love of literature, they bring many diverse talents and expertise to the program. We have Greek scholars, philosophy majors, blossoming novelists, guitar players, rugby stars, debate team members, artists, and musicians. Many of our Program Assistants are returning to Great Books for their second, third, and even fourth summers. We’re delighted to have such a talented staff of both experienced counselors and new talent at our Amherst, Stanford, Northwestern, Oxford, Dublin, and Beijing campuses.

The Program Assistants help facilitate seminar discussions, collaborate with students on their electives, and organize all kinds of fun indoor and outdoor activities. Each Program Assistant is assigned to a “pod”, a group of 6-8 students on their dorm floor. They lead informal evening discussions in the dorm, assist their students with daily camp life, and make sure that everyone has a wonderful experience.