To increase student curiosity in diversifying education, two Stanford University students, Alec Katz and 2019 Riverdale alumna Audrey Wisch, founded Curious Cardinals. According to their mission statement, Curious Cardinals “aims to ignite passions in our students with engaging, challenging materials and inspiring mentors, so they are empowered with the knowledge and mindset to take agency over their own educational journeys and enact positive change in the world.” In the organization, Stanford students and recent alumni lead enrichment courses for high school students on subjects that they are passionate about, where they can diversify the typical school curriculum using a discussion-based teaching style. 

Katz and Wisch founded the organization as college sophomores. They focused on tutoring younger students, realizing that rigid high school curricula restricted them. The two discovered an opportunity to expand their small tutoring sessions into an education startup that includes greater variety in courses and opportunities. 

Wisch was always eager to go outside  the box to learn about her passions and share them with other people, but one of the most important components of Curious Cardinals was drawn from her very own experiences. She  stated, “We’re not too much older than [the students], so we want to help them realize how much they can do at this age.” The narrow age gap between her and her students, as well as the lack of grades, facilitates rich and enthusiastic learning. In Curious Cardinals courses, mentors can set higher goals for students in terms of creativity, making learning a more relatable and interactive process.

Wisch explained one of the  missions of the program as  “redefining the term ‘tutoring’ and making an accelerated track for students who want to have deep learning experiences.” With an array of  subjects to explore and the natural connections formed between high schoolers and college students, Curious Cardinals actively works toward achieving what traditional education cannot.

Katz’s and Wisch’s recent experiences in high school allowed them to understand the key aspects that define a successful educational experience. For Riverdale senior Molly Langer, her Curious Cardinals course about human behavioral biology was such an enjoyable experience because “[the teacher] was younger and he knew how to keep us engaged rather than just give us 50 presentations and make us take a final and a midterm.” Langer’s story illustrates how student-led Curious Cardinals courses revive an independent passion that school alone often cannot provide. 

The bonds that students create with their teachers in the Curious Cardinals program expand beyond just learning about one topic for a given amount of time. The teachers also act as mentors for college applications, extracurricular activities, and community service opportunities. Shared interest makes these mentorships unique; fresh from high school themselves, mentors form invaluable relationships with their students. 

Kaitlin Russo, also a Riverdale senior, participated in a Curious Cardinals course on mass incarceration. “For me,” Russo said, “it was nice that [Wisch] went to Riverdale and knew me. She was understanding because she was also a student, so she knew what to focus on and what holes to fill in regarding regular high school and college curriculum.” 

High school teaches us valuable and necessary lessons, but it cannot meet all the intellectual interests of all  its students. Curious Cardinals is not just an educational program, but also gives students what they need to sate their curiosities outside of the classroom.