After working with gifted kids for over the past three years at 优蜜视频, Program Coordinator Nicole Endacott shares the 5 lessons she has learned from our inspiring students.

1. There are infinite types of 鈥渟mart.鈥�

The kids who are gifted aren鈥檛 always the ones who ace every test. They can be the students who create elaborate doodles in the back of the classroom, acutely perceive when their friend is upset, or who have such outside-the-box creative ideas they can鈥檛 even put them into words or onto paper. Working in the gifted education world has meant broadening my view of what intellect can look like in such a diverse population 鈥� it鈥檚 so much fun to see how giftedness can express itself in our community!

2. Being sensitive doesn鈥檛 mean being weak.

Gifted kids often are more sensitive to abnormal stimuli such as social tension, high noise levels, perceived injustice, unusual textures, or a sudden change of plans. Though these sensitivities can make life as a gifted kid challenging at times, it does not mean they are weak. Going through life with sensitivities makes gifted kids brave, resilient, and empathetic.

3. Finding like-minded peers is invaluable.

One of my favorite parts of working with gifted youth is watching them enter an environment where they encounter kids like themselves, perhaps for the first time. When they鈥檙e able to have conversations with their peers about their favorite topics, gifted kids can bloom socially. I love seeing friendships form over unique premises you could only find in the gifted world: sharing an obscure favorite dinosaur, maybe, or a love of rhyming multi-syllable words.

4. Everyone should learn to advocate for themselves.

Gifted students have had to ask for what they need more than average children. Though a teacher with 30 other students may see a child asking for a harder worksheet as lower on their list of priorities, we should be rewarding students who know how to ask for tools that will help them succeed.

5. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all weird.鈥�

On the final day of Academy classes last fall, I discovered a phrase written on a white board after every student had left: 鈥淩eminder: We鈥檙e all weird.鈥� It was written in a student鈥檚 handwriting. I later found out that it was meant as a reminder that everyone has things that make them unique: we can either worry about being different or we can realize that our 鈥渨eird鈥� traits are the best parts of us!

This past July, 12-year-old educator and founder (and now !), Luke Gialanella, presented ‘s fourth student-lead workshop. Votes and Voices: The Electoral College invited students ages 9-14 to participate in an informative and fun introduction to the U.S. presidential election process, including a hands-on electoral simulation and vocabulary challenge, culminating in a baseball cap raffle prize.

Previously, published young author and veteran Academy student lead three poetry workshops, including Shakespeare鈥檚 Tragedies and Sonnets. Her mission, to help young reluctant writers learn to love writing through poetry, inspired her to offer similar poetry workshops at the Pasadena Public Library and to create her website, .

Luke and Cassidy’s success is a testament not only to their passion and talent, but also to their dedication and hard work. And it goes without saying that it takes plenty of planning and prep! Students who are compelled to volunteer their time and energy to offer a workshop must prepare in much the same way as Academy instructors do. Determining content, researching materials, developing age-appropriate activities, and reworking curriculum in collaboration with the Program Coordinator are expectations of all prospective workshop leaders. In addition to budgeting time for collaboration and planning, students are responsible for composing their own workshop description and bio for approval by the marketing team. Sound like fun? It is!

As Academy looks forward to our next student-run workshop this November 2, Votes and Voices: Mid-Term Elections and Why They Matter, we reflect on the ways that this opportunity, created for and by students, resonates with 优蜜视频’s mission of serving the intellectual, creative and personal growth of our nation’s gifted and high-potential youth. Whether leading their own workshop or engaging as an active participant, students at Academy are creating a unique space for themselves where they can:

• Engage in educational experiences that promote optimal challenge, mentorship, exploration of ideas and recognition of personal potential;
• Connect with like-minded peers to support a diverse community that creates a sense of belonging and affirmation;
• Foster intellectual curiosity, the acquisition of knowledge, confidence, creativity, responsibility, and moral decisiveness.

Interested in attending future student-led Academy workshops? to receive details and registration information as soon as it鈥檚 released!