Dear School Counselor, Teacher, Community Member, or Other Mentor,

 

I am writing to invite you to nominate intellectually curious, community-minded, and motivated students to apply for a full scholarship to our program in Summer 2023. We offer the Telluride Association Summer Seminar (TASS) for high school sophomores and juniors (“rising juniors” and “rising seniors”). It is a free, six-week program.

 

Our Telluride Association Summer Seminars (TASS) study how power and privilege shape social structures through courses in humanities and social sciences. TASS-CBS (Critical Black Studies) offers seminars that explore topics within history, politics, literature, art, and other intellectual and cultural contributions from people of African descent. TASS-AOS (Anti-Oppressive Studies) considers systems of power and oppression including white supremacy, patriarchy, and economic inequality, and possibilities of social transformation. Seminars titles and descriptions will be available in the spring. (Those who have heard from us before may notice significant changes from our 2020 and earlier programs. To learn more about why we made these changes, you can read our letter here.)

 

Here is a quick link to the nomination form. For more information, read on!

 

At each program, students live in a residence on or near the university campus and participate in a seminar led by two professors. The program seminars meet for three hours each weekday. Our professors ask students to read carefully, to consider controversial ideas from many perspectives, and to express their ideas in writing and in class. Instead of grades, students receive extensive feedback from their professors and other mentors.

 

Outside of the seminar, students work together to build a close-knit educational community. They learn from each other as they share meals, discuss new ideas, practice public-speaking skills, and decide democratically on activities they'll undertake as a group.

 

We seek applicants from around the country and world and from all backgrounds. We particularly prioritize the selection of Black students for the Critical Black Studies program, and the selection of students of color as well as students who have experienced economic hardship, for the Anti-Oppressive Studies program.

 

All accepted students receive a full scholarship, with no charge for tuition, books, or room and board. Although students are responsible for arranging travel to and from their program, travel subsidies are available. We also offer funding to replace lost wages for students who would otherwise be working over the summer to support their families.

 

 We encourage you to submit the names and email addresses of students who would benefit from and contribute to our programs. We are seeking students who will complete either their sophomore or junior year of high school this spring. If you cannot give email addresses or you have other questions about the form, please write to nominations@tellurideassociation.org .

 

 

 

The 2023 application is also available on our website: tass.tellurideassociation.org. Please visit nominate.tellurideassociation.org to add your students to our online nomination form by December 1, 2022.

Please let students know you have nominated them to apply for this program. You and your students are welcome to contact me with any questions about the program or the application process. Thank you, whether you are nominating your students for the twentieth time or for the first! The continuing success and growth of TASS is a tribute to committed supporters like you.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Michael Becker, Ph.D.

Chair, Summer Programs Applications & Recruitment Committee