Alumni and Friends Newsletter

News & Updates

CTY Research Equips Educators to Identify Advanced Learners

The 2026 Sarah D. Barder Fellowship Program annual conference was held April 24-25 in Las Vegas to induct nine new fellows (pictured), who were nominated by CTY students and selected for their exceptional impact. The workshop portion of the conference focused on “Spotting Academic Ability in the Wild: Recognizing It Where It Happens,” emphasizing how advanced learners often demonstrate ability beyond test scores and formal programs. New and returning fellows discussed the many ways that advanced learners show up—in activities, assignments, informal interactions, etc.—and collaborated on ideas for a guide to talent spotting. Learn more about CTY’s innovative research.

Families Connect Through Unique Educational Experiences 

CTY’s Educational Travel programs bring families together for immersive, hands-on learning and shared discovery. This year kicked off with a four-day return to Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota, Fla. Fifteen students in grades 4-8 and their families had behind-the-scenes access to the aquarium’s engineering systems, animal care, and conservation efforts. Participants were excited to visit a sea turtle hospital, collect and examine sea life along the shore, and kayak through mangroves while studying coastal ecosystems. Upcoming programs include watching neurosurgery up close at Liberty Science Center in New Jersey in June and viewing a meteor shower and partial solar eclipse at Mount St. Helens in August.

Poet Cornelius Eady Headlines Joshua Ringel Memorial Reading

More than 120 people gathered for the 27th Joshua Ringel Memorial Reading on April 26 at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet and playwright Cornelius Eady shared selections from his distinguished career and engaged with the audience during a Q&A session and book signing. CTY hosts this free annual event, made possible through an endowment honoring CTY alumnus and poetry enthusiast Joshua Ringel ’82-’84, and his parents, Mel and Barbara. See highlights from the event in this short video and photos.

Mark Your Calendar

June 8: Summer Course Enrollment Deadline
Check out the rigorous, fresh, and fun day, residential, and online courses now enrolling for summer. Limited seats are available.

June 15: Summer Courses Start
Online courses begin, and students arrive at our 10 day and residential sites soon after.

Now: Fall Courses Enrolling
Nearly 80 online courses are now open for enrollment. The first 500 people who enroll by July 1 can lock in 2025-26 tuition rates by clicking “Apply a discount” and then selecting “Fall 2026 Online Enrollment Discount.”

July 5-8: CTY Scholars Leadership Conference
Donor support makes it possible for 25 high school students in our CTY Scholars program to gather on the Hopkins Homewood campus to work on leadership projects and foster their academic and personal growth.

Alumni Spotlight

From CTYer to Literary Light

A passage from a book that Emma Snyder ’95-’96 discovered in a CTY expository writing course ignited a lifelong love of literature. Now as the owner of two Baltimore bookstores, Snyder has come full circle, providing books to the very program that helped shape her future. Read more.

Staff Spotlight

Bringing a Fresh Course to a New Site 

Erin Aust started at CTY as a program assistant in 2008 and has since taught writing courses like Modern Fantasy at CTY sites and online. This summer ushers in two new highlights in her CTY career—opening a new day site and teaching a brand-new course.

“I am so excited to work at CTY at the Woods Academy in suburban Washington, D.C. It is always astonishing to see how quickly the CTY faculty and staff come together to create a site each summer. I am also delighted to help bring the Shaping Our World course to third- and fourth-grade students. Architecture is a rich topic, and this course encourages students to problem-solve across different subjects. They will see the world around them in a whole new light.”

Donor Spotlight

Alumnus Pays It Forward to CTY Scholars Program

As a CTY student, Barry Leybovich ’03-’08 began preparing for a career in healthcare software through courses such as Investigations in Engineering. As the son of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, he found a sense of belonging at CTY. Today, he is establishing the Leybovich Family Endowed Scholarship Fund to support CTY Scholars, a four-year academic advising and college counseling program designed to close the opportunity gap among our nation’s brightest students.

“CTY provides a unique environment for intellectual exploration, and I still chat with friends I made at CTY every week,” he said. “I give so that these experiences are available to students of all backgrounds.”

Infinite Thanks to Our ONEHopkins Pi Day Donors

ONEHopkins Pi Day 2026 is over, but our gratitude goes on! Your generosity helped raise $87,804 to provide students with life-changing opportunities among peers who share their love of learning. We’re especially grateful to Allison Devore, Terri Kim, John Sabat, Marc Schneider, Amy Lynne Shelton, Peter Stris, and an anonymous donor—whose matching gifts multiplied the amount of every dollar raised. 

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Contact the Development and Alumni Relations team at ctydevelopment@jhu.edu.