From high school to Harvard in one summer

Malverne resident Ryan Pane went to Harvard University this summer. The interesting part? He’s still in high school.

The 15-year-old Valley Stream North High School student was one of about 1,000 students from throughout the county and abroad to take part in Harvard's annual Secondary School Program, which aims to give high school kids an early feel for college life.

Pane's good grades and ambition landed him the opportunity to get into the program and, as a further reward, he received college credits for it.

In the program, which Harvard runs every summer, high school students get the chance to spend time at Ivy League school, taking classes that could earn them college credits and provide insight into what's ahead.

“It’s like regular college life,” Pane recently told the Herald. “You live in a dorm...for about two months, and you have your classes on certain days and times, and you go. You have to do their assignments. There’s tests, quizzes and finals.”

Assignments and tests in the summer might seem tedious for some, but for Pane, it was just a part of an enjoyable experience and good times. He got to work alongside college and adult students, explore various subjects that aren’t offered in high school and work with distinguished faculty. Pane and others in the program used well-equipped labs and had access to one of the largest university library systems in the world. Plus, he gets to tell people he was a Harvard student at 15.

Living in a dorm with roommates from June 21 until Aug. 6, Pane got a taste of the true college lifestyle — and its workload, class schedule and all. But one of the best parts of the program, he said, was that he got a chance to meet teens from all over the world. While American students learn about foreign students' home counties and backgrounds and culture, foreign students get to learn English — both in and out of the classroom — and learn about the American college experience.

“It was a lot of fun. The experience was pretty much ... amazing,” Pane said. “You got to see actual college life for the first time. It was like a preview to what you’re going to be experiencing in a couple of more years.”

As part of his studies in the program, Pane got an in-depth look at two of his favorite subjects, international relations and introduction to acting. “This gave me more of an eye opening of what I might want to do,” Pane said. He does plan to apply to Harvard, but still wants to check out other schools and see what options he has.

Pane’s family was ecstatic about his success. “I’m thrilled for him,” said his mother, Gina Pane. “Very proud.”

As is his grandmother, Rosalie Pampilloneis. “I’m proud that he succeeded,” Pampilloneis said. “He completed it successfully, and he loved every moment of it."

While the most important part is that her grandson enjoyed the program, Pampilloneis said participating in it will also benefit him in the years ahead. "I think that it’s a good prerequisite for when college comes," she said. "It was the experience of a lifetime. ... Now we're just waiting for the marks."

For more information about Harvard's Secondary School Program at Harvard, visit summer.harvard.edu.