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July 16, 2025 9 mins

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What does it take to prepare today's students for jobs that don't yet exist? Esteban Olivares, leader of Summer Discovery's transformative pre-college programs, reveals the secret ingredients for educational experiences that truly matter.

The conversation takes us deep into the evolving landscape of education, where Olivares shares how Summer Discovery bridges the gap between academic knowledge and real-world application. At the heart of their approach lies a powerful insight: beyond the hard skills of specific disciplines, tomorrow's leaders need mastery of communication, creativity, and kindness—soft skills that enable success across changing careers and technologies.

Working with prestigious institutions like Yale, Georgetown, and Cornell, Summer Discovery has developed a unique approach to creating immersive educational experiences. These programs aren't just about academic rigor; they're carefully designed ecosystems where students feel seen, heard, and empowered to tackle meaningful challenges. Olivares explains how they've scaled these opportunities to reach 15,000 students across over 20 sites while maintaining the distinct ethos of each partner institution.

Perhaps most compelling is Olivares' perspective on what today's youth truly want from education: not simplified problems, but opportunities to engage with big, bold ideas that have real-world impact. Whether through hackathons, policy writing, or hands-on medical experiences, these programs allow students to discover their passions while developing the leadership skills that will serve them regardless of which career path they ultimately choose.

Ready to discover how these innovative approaches to education are shaping tomorrow's leaders? Visit SummerDiscovery.com to learn more about their programs and see firsthand how they're preparing students for a rapidly changing future.

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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:13):
Welcome to the 2025 IdeaGen Future of Summit.
I have Esteban Olivares with me.
Summer Discovery.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
We really appreciate it.
Thanks for having me.
Summer discovery.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
We really appreciate it.
You're happy and keeping withthe theme of the future of uh.
The first question will be uh,you've shaped transformative
pre-college experiences foryears.
How do you see programs likesummer discovery evolving to

(00:36):
prepare students for the futureof work, especially as
innovative accelerates?

Speaker 2 (00:42):
well, I think it's keeping pulse on what's
happening in the world,especially what's impacting
youth today.
Just understanding that is, Ithink, foundational.
Then, of course, we're workingspecifically in pre-college
residential programs in highered universities.
So what's happening withuniversities?
What are their pain points,what are their goals, what are
their needs?
Kind of finding thatintersection between both of

(01:05):
them so that we can be a greatpartner.
And I think the evolution comesinto the future of work.
What is that next job that'sgoing to happen, and I think
it's understanding that we don'treally know exactly the
technology and the skills aregoing to be needed for that next
job 10, 20 years from now.
But it's keeping the pulse onit.
And that's interacting withindustry, interacting with folks

(01:29):
who are hiring and preparingthe jobs.
So bringing those all together.
The intersection between theyouth and what is their world,
higher ed and industry.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Absolutely, and Summer Discovery emphasizes
real-world learning and 21stcentury skills.
What major shifts are youseeing in student needs or
expectations that schools andemployers must respond to?

Speaker 2 (01:54):
Well, I think it's understanding that it's beyond
the hard skills.
So if you're going to be achemist and you have to have a
degree in chemistry, that's thathard skill.
But it's those soft skills thatare going to be important
Communication, creativity,kindness.
How do we teach those and howare those learned?
Because if you do not know howto work on a spreadsheet that
someone around the world isgoing to be working on at the
same time I mean maybe in adifferent language we have tools

(02:18):
to make that work and to makethat happen.
So it's having that ability tocommunicate and understand.
How do we use technology tocommunicate?
How do I get creative with thetools that are given to me and
the fact that I may be working ahybrid job and in the office a
couple of days, but I'm workingfrom home most of the other days
?
How do I get creative in thatatmosphere?

(02:38):
How do we teach students thosesoft skills to be creative,
those soft skills to be created?
And then that the kindnesspiece is just, is just, I think,
the biggest part of it.
Because whatever field I'm in,how do I instill kindness?
How do I still understandingcompassion, um, that my work has
an impact, um, regardless ofthe field that I have, whether
it's just working with myco-workers, or the product or

(02:59):
the output of what we'recreating has an impact on the
world, and how do I tap intothat kindness and compassion to
be a better person?

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Yes, yeah, crucial skills to the younger generation
have to be willing to adapt.
Yes, definitely, and you'vebuilt deep partnerships with
elite universities andcorporations.
What makes these academicindustry alliances successful in
preparing diverse students fora rapidly changing future?

Speaker 2 (03:27):
Well, when an organization, a university, a
company, a nonprofit, anorganization like Ideagen is
working with Summer Discovery,the foundation is trust, because
you're trusting us with yourbrand whether it is here's the
ethos of Georgetown or here'swhat Ideagen stands for and
we're asking Summer Discovery towork with us to figure out how

(03:48):
do we translate this into apre-college experience for youth
.
We have to have that trust andthat trust is mutual.
We work together, collaborationand really get creative and
figure out what's the designthat we are going to pull
together so that these studentshave an amazing experience in
the classroom, but also outsideof the classroom, for that 24-7
experience.

Speaker 1 (04:08):
Absolutely, and you've also led growth across
institutions like Yale andGeorgetown.
What have you learned aboutscaling elite opportunities
while keeping them inclusive andimpactful?

Speaker 2 (04:21):
You can't move too quickly.
If you move too fast you'rekind of missing the details and
you really have to be methodical, you have to really plan it out
and understand that we're alsocreating this for youth.
So you have to be safe and youreally have to have the
structure there to make surethat, once again, 24 7, that

(04:42):
safety, that supervision is allthere with the rising concerns
around youth mental health.

Speaker 1 (04:49):
How does your team balance academic rigor with
student well-being and personaldevelopment?

Speaker 2 (04:56):
you know, in a residential program.
You really have to allowstudents to understand that
they're seen, that they're heard, that they have agency and that
you're also working with theacademic part partner to figure
out how do we make this relevantto the student who wants to
engage in those big ideas andkind of.
Those are some of the pieces ofthat recipe, so you could do

(05:18):
bold things, um, but really it'smaking sure that the student is
seen, that they're heard andthat they feel safe and that
they have a voice in theclassroom and outside of the
classroom, absolutely.

Speaker 1 (05:29):
So crucial?
Yes, and you personally?
What are some of the bestpractices you've developed to
manage high growth programswhile also maintaining academic
and operational excellence?

Speaker 2 (05:42):
It's really training.
It's really coming down to theidea of here's the design,
here's the program, here's thepolicies, here's the protocols.
So, whether it's a team memberwho you're working with
throughout the year inpre-college, residential
programs, we have a lot ofseasonal employees as well and
it's making sure that we'resetting up the framework.
But the scalability comes intoplay when you are working with

(06:05):
Cornell, you're working withGeorgetown, you're working with
UCLA, and each one has its ownbrand and its own ethos and you
have to instill those into thetraining for every single staff
person that you have.
So last year we had 15,000students across over 20 sites,
probably close to 1,000 seasonalstaff people, and you have to

(06:25):
make sure that whateveruniversity, whichever program
they're working with, theyunderstand that partner's brand
and values.
Wow.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
And why is early real world exposure so vital in
education today, and how do yousee experiential learning
shaping the future of highschool and college prep?

Speaker 2 (06:47):
I think, as I said earlier, you have to understand
the pulse of youth and I thinkpeople sometimes have a
misconception of youth and theyhave to understand that youth
want to engage in big, boldideas.
They want to be involved inunderstanding how can I solve a
real-world problem?
I don't want you to just giveme a math problem.
I want you to give me a problemwhere I can solve it, that's

(07:09):
going to possibly impact theworld.
So, whether that's a hackathonor whether that's figuring out,
how can you write policy forinternational relations or how
can you participate in a mocktrial or even working on a
cadaver, to understand ispre-med the direction I really
want to go into.
It has to be important to themand um, not these ancillary

(07:30):
activities.
It has to be something that isbold, that is important so that
it engages them, because maybethey're not engaged that level
in the fall and spring of theiracademic year.

Speaker 1 (07:40):
You're shaping future generations.
It's crucial work, and so whatexcites you most about the next
wave of innovation, education,and how should institutions
position themselves to lead thatin the future?

Speaker 2 (07:54):
I really think it's understanding that in the
classroom today we have thefuture leaders of tomorrow.
So, whatever subject it is,whatever hardcore subject it is,
what are those soft skills aregonna be needed to help that
person be the leader that theycan be?
Most likely that student'sprobably gonna go to college and
change majors once or twice.
So the passion they have at 14in a pre-college program may be

(08:17):
very different than the passionthey have freshman year and what
they graduate with and whatthey go into the world with.
But those consistent skills ofcommunication, collaboration,
creativity, kindness.
If they have those soft skills,wherever they land they can be
a leader.
And it's these pre-collegeprograms that can allow them to
practice this leadership skillsand see themselves as leaders?

Speaker 1 (08:39):
And just to close, where can people find your work
and learn more about SummerDiscovery?

Speaker 2 (08:44):
SummerDiscoverycom and you find all the information
there, and we have some amazingprograms, some amazing partners
and amazing people who committhemselves to making sure the
students have an amazing, safeexperience.

Speaker 1 (08:57):
That's amazing Well from IdeaGen.
Thank you for the work you'redoing.
It's so crucial.
The younger generation needshelp and thank you, I appreciate
it.
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