CTW Alum Brings Yale’s Spirit of Cultivating Conversation to Coop High

At Cooperative Arts & Humanities High School in New Haven, a student-led philosophy club is carving out a space for conversation. Thinkers, founded in October 2024 by senior Nyota-Uhura Jackson after her participation in Yale’s Citizens Thinkers Writers (CTW) program, aims to provide students with the opportunity to ask — and sit with — open-ended questions.

Jackson, a 2024–25 CTW Fellow, said the club began as an effort to bring the spirit of the summer seminar back to Coop.

“I was truly inspired by my experience and wanted to share it with the Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School community,” Jackson said. “Additionally, I realized that there were not a lot of places where I could have philosophical discussions with people outside of CTW, so I decided to create that space for me and others.”

Now, more than a year after its founding, Thinkers has doubled its membership and established a regular meeting space in the school library. Jackson and the club’s officers are working to build a leadership structure that will allow the group to continue after they graduate. They are also in early conversations about hosting Professor Bryan Garsten, a CTW founding director and faculty member, for a talk on philosophy at Coop.

The club’s mission, according to Jackson, is to “increase critical thinking at our high school through philosophy; provide a welcoming space where our peers feel their thoughts can be heard; encourage interested members to apply to Citizens Thinkers Writers; and, through our intentional presence, inspire fellow students to pursue their own creative pathways for leadership and learning.” Looking ahead, members hope the club may eventually connect with and expand to students at other New Haven schools.

The club’s discussion format reflects CTW’s seminar approach. Jackson recalled how, toward the end of the summer program, Garsten and CTW residential assistant Daniel Zhang began turning over control of the conversation to students.

“They would give us a question or a reading to discuss and just let the group talk about it, stating our opinions and curiously questioning each other’s reasoning,” she said. “They would act as a guiding facilitator, occasionally making sure the conversation kept going or introducing a new point of view to the conversation, but otherwise we were left to manage the discussion on our own.”

Thinkers meetings, she said, follow that same structure. Jackson prepares a prompt — sometimes light, sometimes tough  — and allows discussion to unfold without formal moderation.

“It reminded us of the beauty of generative discussion rooted in deep questioning and critical reflection,” she said. “It may seem obvious that you can congregate in a group and just contemplate in this way, but it was a good reminder of our access to this pathway of thoughtful engagement as young people.”

Jackson emphasized that the club’s student-led model is central to its purpose.

“The value of a student-led organization like Thinkers is the flexibility we have to explore leadership through the promotion of critical thinking,” she said. That flexibility, she added, affects every aspect of planning, outreach and recruitment. “There is also a sense of accomplishment for us as young people to see that we were able to start a club like this, grow it, and keep it going on our own.”

For Ka’Meya Ingram, a first-year member, the club offers a sense of belonging as much as intellectual challenge.

“I hope to accomplish a community,” Ingram said. “I want to do that by learning philosophy, making friends, and trying to gain memories from this new experience.” She said joining a student-run group also reinforced her confidence. “It shows that even though we’re currently students, in the future we can hold our own. That we will be your next leaders.”

Ingram added that joining Thinkers felt timely amid what she sees as a broader disconnect among students. “To be kind, to have wonder. To just be human again,” she said. “We’ve lost ourselves in social media and technology. Now with this, we can try to figure out how to connect with one another again.”

Skye Macmillian, who serves as the club’s event coordinator, has focused on expanding programming beyond library discussions.

“I have been coming up with several activities for the group,” he said, “particularly ways that we can bring our conversations and thoughts to engaging places, such as the art gallery, outside of Coop.” He said the club is currently prioritizing recruitment and visibility.

“Being a member of Thinkers has grown my perspective by gaining exposure to diverse viewpoints,” Macmillian added. He added that Thinkers offers a space where “students are able to speak freely and authentically without the pressure of those beliefs.”.

Members said the club’s focus on philosophy and the humanities has felt especially relevant in 2025. “Studying philosophy, and the humanities more broadly, brings in the diverse perspectives, use of logic, and thinking needed to understand our world,” Jackson said. “People are often scared to have controversial conversations, hear the other side of an argument or a different point of view, contributing to problems and misunderstandings today.”

She argued that philosophy education should not be framed in opposition to science. “The humanities and STEM are both areas of study that are important for our society and should be focused on, not one or the other.”

Cayla Stanton, a 2025–26 CTW fellow and a member of Thinkers, echoed that sentiment.

“Studying philosophy and the humanities in general is less about memorizing old ideas and more about learning how to think,” Stanton said. “Figures like Socrates or Plato push us to challenge assumptions, to recognize weak arguments, and to see the values behind the choices we make every day.”

Stanton noted that these skills are particularly significant amid debates about technology and truth. “Whether it’s deciding how we should use AI, figuring out what’s true online, or just trying to build a meaningful life, those skills are practical, not abstract.” She added that during her time at CTW, philosophical conversation became a form of resilience. “Being immersed in learning, discussion, and creativity became a source of comfort,” she said.

As Thinkers prepares for its second year, members said the goal remains unchanged: keep the circle open, keep the questions alive and keep the conversation student-led.