Meet Your Speakers
Cole Whetstone
Founder & Academic Director
BA Harvard University
MSt University of Oxford
After graduating from Harvard — where he served as program director of its largest afterschool program — Cole received a full scholarship to study Ancient Philosophy at Oxford, where he went on to teach Ancient Greek. His research has been published in academic journals, with contributions to breakthroughs in Parkinson's and Alzheimer's treatment. He speaks Latin, Ancient Greek, French, Spanish, Italian, and several other languages.
Stephanie Whetstone
Application & Writing Mentor
BA Duke University
MFA Univ. North Carolina
Former Asst. Director, Princeton Writing Center
For the last ten years, Stephanie has taught, written with, and edited for the staff and students at Princeton University. Prior to her work at Princeton, she taught composition, world literature, and creative writing courses at the university level. As an experienced writing coach, Stephanie has guided over five students to Rhodes Scholarships, bringing both rigor and warmth to the process — ensuring every draft is clear, compelling, and true to the student.
Ren Yu
Operations Director & Capstone Mentor
BS New York University
After graduating high school at 16, Ren received a merit scholarship to study philosophy and economics at Brandeis University. He later transferred to NYU to study and accept a job opportunity in finance. He co-founded the New York Philosophical Society alongside Cole — a nonprofit with over 8,500 members, built around civil dialogue and the shared pursuit of wisdom.
Open Q&A
There's dedicated time to ask Cole, Stephanie, and Ren anything — whether it's about your own child's situation, the process in general, or whatever else is on your mind.