Sitting in a college auditorium might be overwhelming for some high school students, especially at a prestigious college like Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

But for Trinity junior Wyatt Ware, spending time at Yale was an honor and privilege.

“I got a two-week college experience,” Ware said of the summer program.

Nearly 6,000 high school students from all over the world applied for YYGS, but only 27 percent were accepted. Recommendations and a connection to Yale were important in Ware being accepted.

“My mom is good friends with a doctor that went to Yale, and he told my mom about the program,” Ware said.

Mr. Keith Wiedmar, honors freshman biology teacher at Trinity, and Ms. Missy Clay, honors freshman English teacher and advanced ACT prep teacher at Trinity, wrote recommendations for Ware.

“I never hesitated to say yes,” Clay said.  “He will always be excellent at what he does.”

The YYGS program included three divisions: biology and biomedical science, law and economics, and math and engineering.

“I’ve always been interested in human anatomy,” Ware said.

Ware, along with the 200 students in the biology and biomedical science division, went through nine seminars and eight lectures about the study of biology in general. Ware then joined a group that focused on pharmacology, the study of medicine and the uses and effects of drugs.

Ware found the work “fun and challenging time — challenging because we had to absorb so much information from lectures and seminars to create a 15-minute lecture about pharmacology, along with a 15-minute question-and-answer discussion with grad students and professors that really know what they are talking about.”

Ware said learning about anatomy from peers and professors “was an awesome experience.”

Ware’s love for biology drove him to apply for the program.

He said, “Mr. Wiedmar and my mom encouraged me, and Mr. Wiedmar really pushed me to be the best and gave me life lessons.”

This program really showed Ware what he wants to focus on in the future. He said, “At first I wanted to focus on biology, but then I grew to like anatomy more.”

Ware has also been on a few college visits. Ware and  his mom, Ms. Lisa Fleming, a lawyer who went to Hanover College in Indiana and the University of Louisville Law School Juris Doctor program, stopped off at Bucknell University and Dartmouth College on the way to Yale.

“If I had to choose today, I would go to Dartmouth,” Ware said. “I loved Yale with all of the cultures, but Dartmouth is my number one.”

Fleming said she wants Wyatt to attend a college “where he feels comfortable and (has) what he wants to study.”

Because of his love for sports and biology, Ware wants to work in sports medicine.  Ware’s strong work ethic has made him a dedicated student, as well as a member of the varsity lacrosse team and the National Honor Society.

“Whatever he chooses to do for his future, he will excel,” Clay said. “He will be wonderful at whatever he does, no doubt.   His work ethic is second to none. He is so laser-focused, wants to do his very best and ends up doing his very best.”