Letter from a LAUNCH Scholar

Sophie, 2025-2026 LAUNCH Scholar

If you could write a letter to your past self that you would receive on the first day of the College LAUNCH for Leadership Program, what would you tell yourself to expect, what to lean into, and what you have gained so far from your experience?

Walking into the building around 8:45 a.m. and signing in, I was really nervous at first because I wasn’t expecting to see that many people from different schools across North Carolina. Some faces were familiar, and some weren’t. At each monthly summit, we were seated around different people, and each day I ended up making at least one new friend. I learned about other people’s stories and life experiences, even sharing some of my own, which made the space very safe and like a real community.

There were these outstanding guest speakers who discussed different subjects such as self-identity, social justice, and community service. I also met an extraordinary group of people in my YPAR group, where we are actively collaborating on a project. One half of the members in our group are interested in politics and laws, while the other half is interested in healthcare, so we brainstormed and worked really hard to make sure our project reflected both perspectives. Through working so closely together, we even formed a close friend group. Our cohort independently wrote multiple drafts of our college essays using different prompts and received insightful feedback that encouraged us to do better the next time and think more deeply about our stories. Overall, the Wake Forest College L.A.U.N.C.H. gave me more confidence to move forward through my journey to college and showed me how amazing it feels to be surrounded by people who support, challenge, and uplift each other.