Interface Workshops were created out of a desire to help our students expand their interests beyond typical opportunities within school and competition frameworks.
Creative Advisor, Susan Goodkin, a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and Oxford University, is an essential team member at Interface, where she uses her passion for mentoring students to create unforgettable experiences. In partnership with authors, professors, artists, performers, and scientists, Interface provides a diverse list of workshops for students to choose from based on their growing or long-term interest areas.
New workshops are being created each year, and these additional programs are available to our college counseling students first, as well as high school students outside our community who desire strong collaboration in a small group setting within an engaging virtual community of young global scholars.
Interface Workshops
Young Writer’s Workshop
The Young Writer’s Workshop is for students in 9th – 12th grade who are anxious to improve their writing through getting feedback on their short stories, poems, and non-fiction writing from professional writers and peers. Professional writers share their work with other writers to improve it – and increase the odds of getting it published!
Learn from the Authors:
Book Discussion Workshop
This program will give students the unique opportunity to discuss books with the authors who wrote them! The book group will read an assigned book and then have a discussion with the author of that book. Six books will be discussed.
STEM Transformer Workshop
In the program’s 8 sessions, led by published authors and experienced public speakers, students will develop these critical reading, writing and speaking skills through analyzing and discussing the use of science in genres including short stories and films, completing writing assignments that include drafting a science fiction short story (over the course of the program with step-by-step guidance by the instructor), and giving an oral presentation.
Broadway Workshop
With Broadway shut down for the next several months, students have a unique opportunity to get personalized coaching on their acting, singing, dancing, and/or writing from Broadway professionals! These workshops are great for students who are applying to performing arts programs, as well as theater/singing hobbyists – they are designed to be fun and collaborative, not stressful! No Previous Experience Needed!
American Film Workshop
Interface has designed a unique 9-session program to help students interested in film pursue that interest and distinguish themselves from other college applicants! Students will have the opportunity to discuss films with a professional film reviewer, Mark London Williams, who writes about all aspects of the cinema for America’s top publications about film. With Mr. William’s guidance, students will also have the opportunity to prepare a piece of writing about film to be submitted for publication – getting published is a powerful way to strengthen an application!
Women-in-Action (WIA)
The Women-in-Action (WIA) Program introduces women-identified high school students to gender studies and feminism as a theoretical, academic discipline and as a practical, actionable way of life!
WIA gives students the tools to make their perspectives and voices heard through small group discussions on current topics in women’s rights, 1:1 mentoring that helps students identify their personal values, and access to a speaker series to develop a supportive network of women who will help position them for future success in college and beyond.
Gender Studies Workshop
Join this 8-week, highly interactive seminar introducing both boys and girls to the subject of gender studies and feminist theories through a social justice framework. The workshop includes topics such as: the birth of Chinese feminism and its relationship to global feminisms, intersectionality, reproductive rights, the social construction of the gender binary, LGBTQ+ rights, sexual harassment and assault, gender representations in pop culture, body positivity, feminist art, media literacy, “allyship”, and methods of taking action for equal rights in your own community.
Philosophy Workshop
This program will first introduce students to the broad philosophical concepts needed to discuss philosophical ethics as applied to specific situations. The first three sessions will cover utilitarianism, deontology (including natural law and Kantian ethics), and virtue ethics/care ethics. In the next four sessions, the students will discuss the ethics of technology (including AI), bioethics, and environmental ethics/animal rights (particularly in the context of scientific research).
AI and Social Good Workshop
This workshop will include both discussion and hands-on activities.
Participating in this workshop will allow students to demonstrate that they are not only interested in AI, but they are also concerned about the potential impacts of AI – both positive and negative – on society. Colleges are looking for students who think about the how their future careers will contribute to their community, rather than just how college will benefit them!
Stand Up Comedy Workshop
This unique program is for students who want a fun opportunity to improve their speaking skills and ability to think on their feet by working with one of the premier comedy teachers in the world -and who want to stand out on their college applications, especially among Chinese students. This class will help all students demonstrate their creativity in their college applications, but it will be particularly beneficial to help STEM students distinguish themselves from the typical STEM applicant.
Women in Bioscience
If you love science and want to go beyond what you have learned from your textbooks and high school lectures, join our small, interactive seminar (3-5 students) exploring how scientific research is conducted, communicated, and applied in the real world!
Pre- Law Workshop
Interface has designed this program to not only help students with an interest in law improve their chances of getting into college and law school, but to provide the students with a host of critical information, in a fun and interactive program. The 8 sessions will help students strengthen their resumes for their college applications, understand how to get into a top law school, learn about the standardized tests for law school admissions, learn about what it takes to excel in law school from actual students at top law schools, learn about finding a position as a lawyer, understand the American legal system, and learn about fascinating areas of law.
Exploring CRISPR
This class will help students stand out by giving them a “specialty” to tell colleges about - gene modification - and, if they get published, by showing the colleges that they can communicate about science.