Okay, humans, and any other creature who has the ability to read and comprehend, gather ‘round. It’s finally time for me to spill the beans.
After receiving a ton of questions from future TKS students, I’m here to clear the air once and for all.
Let me start off by saying, yes, TKS is legit, and yes in my personal experience it is worth every single dollar down to the cents you’ll pay to experience the program.
Now, I’m excited to answer all your burning questions about my TKS experience as a 23–24 student. If you still have questions after reading this, feel free to reach out to me via email which I’ll include at the end— don’t be afraid to reach out, but do be warned of my cheesy dad jokes.
But before we dive in, let me introduce myself and give some background on my journey up to applying to TKS:
Hi hi, my name is Angela Porter.
I’m seventeen years old as of May 2nd, 2024, and I’m an African American teenage girl living in the USA.
I love filmmaking and innovation. During my time at TKS, my focus was a mixture of AI + XR + Film. You can find my TKS portfolio as well as other projects and programs I’ve been here through my Linkedin here.
Here’s the thing though; I wasn’t always this version of Angela, my journey to becoming the person I am today, started the second I heard about the TKS program through a friend.
So, now that you know a bit about me. Let’s start at the beginning.
Early 23' PRE-TKS 📅
Around the New Year of ’22, I lost someone incredibly important and close to me. I was a wreck, and I was spiraling. Around this time, I was also struggling with major social anxiety.
I had signed up for this entrepreneurship program beforehand, though, that helped with my social anxiety and helped ground me for a few months — then, through a friend in that program, I heard about TKS.
I was INCREDIBLY skeptical. 🤔
Seriously? I’ll get to work with these big companies and compete in hackathons without having any experience. Me? I’m a sixteen-year-old from PA whose only interest is in the arts, and this program is heavily based in tech and science fields.
Nah, it isn’t for me. I don’t belong there. I won’t make it if I apply. Plus, it’s probably a scam, too good to be true.
And to really sell me on what a bad decision TKS probably was, I found the infamous Reddit threads.
Oh, hail nah, now I definitely wasn’t going. I knew it seemed fishy…👎
But here’s the thing, I felt worse after actually deciding not to go. I mean, literally, all it was was an application — what did I have to lose?
So, I decided to at least apply. I probably still wasn’t going to go, I had two other programs that had accepted me anyway, so I’d probably choose between those instead and —
HOLY CRAP I GOT ACCEPTED?!?!? ME? I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT TECH OR SCIENCE OR —
At this point, I started talking with my mom more. We really invested time in looking deeper into the program, and then I talked with an alum who didn’t have the best experience but did mention that the virtual program wasn’t for her, and her balance with school wasn’t the best.
Also, during my interview, my interviewer said it wasn’t JUST going to be about science and tech.
So, I had a decision to make — either wonder my whole life if TKS was really worth it…or just try it out and make my own opinions.
It was either going to be a huge waste of money or the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. So, I decided to take a page out of my loved one’s life and do exactly what he would’ve done. 💖
Obviously, since you’re reading this, you know what I chose — I said fluff it, let’s ball, and decided to attend.
I knew the program would impact me in some way, but I just didn’t know how much — until after I enrolled and the program started in September of 2023. Little did I know, TKS would be the thing that grounded me after all the craziness that happened earlier that year. Little did I know my entire life would begin to change.
MY TKS EXPERIENCE (why was it so amazing?)
Like I said in the very beginning, I loved my time as a TKS innovator — but why? Well, let me list them for you.
- My Program Director 👨
Granted, I wasn’t fond of him at first, but that’s because I wasn’t used to someone besides my parents actually caring enough to give me the very honest feedback and nope-don’t-give-me-the-BS attitude that I desperately needed. It was completely out of my comfort zone, but as the program went on, the more I respected and grew fond of my program director.
I realized he was just telling us the things we needed to hear, not the things we wanted to hear.
Yeah, he could tell us our slide deck was amazing when it really wasn’t just to make us feel good — or yeah, he could’ve said our font was decent instead of telling us to change it because it was hard to read, but in the end, who’s really losing in the long term? 🤔
Another thing is that he was very particular about whether he answered our questions or encouraged us to find our own answers (using the F.I.O mindset), which I also think encouraged us and improved our ability to reflect, think deeply, and objectively, especially when it comes to ourselves. He always wanted us to know why we were doing something or why we did something, and what wasn’t acceptable if we wanted to meet the standards that we’d set for ourselves.
Honestly, I feel like I definitely got the best director for me, and I know a lot of other innovators who feel the same way about theirs.
So, a big thank you to Aatik Chopra (my director) and all of the other wonderful TKS directors who have helped foster the community I love so much. 🙏
2. The Community 🤝
Out of all the programs I’ve done, all of the classes I’ve attended, this batch of people — this community has been my favorite and the most unforgettable.
You will never meet a group of people who are committed, driven, ambitious, funny, and supportive. I’ve made so many incredible friends and connected with so many amazing people. ♥
What I love is that you’re all coming together and being so different to create a wonderful experience and one day change the world together. Everyone in TKS just brings such good vibes and is always down to do the craziest ideas with their peers to make an impact.
It’s truly one of a kind. An indescribable community of people that I’m so thankful to be a part of.
3. Brainpods 🧠
During your time at TKS, you’ll do a little something called a Brainpod, where you’ll have a friendly debate or discuss one of the prompts given to you based on what you’ve learned that day.
So, if you learned about AI, the prompt you might be discussing in a breakout room is: where do you think AI will be in the next ten years?
If you learned about gene editing, you might have a friendly debate on whether or not it’s ethical if you and your peers have different opinions.
It was honestly just such a fun time to share your opinions and hear the opinions of your fellow innovators and practice your speaking skills, research abilities, and confidence as well.
I WISH I had a picture that shows you this, but I didn’t take any during Brainpods.
4. Velocity 🌟
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED VELOCITY! It’s basically a mini-program within TKS that happens around 1–2 months into the actual program, I believe.
I heard from a lot of previous alumni that Velocity is the place to be if you’re serious about your growth, so that’s why I personally decided to do it. I want to push myself as much as I can, and I’m glad I did.
Velocity is probably one of the most uncomfortable things you’ll do. Every director runs their Velocity differently, and mine really pressed on doing the uncomfortable things.
It was no-BS, meaning if you didn’t do your requirements, you’d be kicked out of Velocity and need to work your way back in.
But during your time, you’ll see an INSANE amount of growth. That’s what Velocity was created for. It’s designed to 10x your growth, but you still need to put in the work. 🌳
Not everyone is going to need Velocity, but I did, and I’m glad that I committed to it and tried my hardest to constantly stay in.
SOOOO, these four reasons are (mainly) why my TKS experience was SO FREAKING AMAZING!
Now, that you know about my experience, let me answer some questions that are frequently asked of me.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 💬
“What are some projects you worked on?
I worked on various projects! I worked on a more stripped down simple verison of J.A.R.V.I.S from Marvel as my first project. I also worked on a drug interaction predictor AI for my second year at TKS in Activate.
“Which is better? Virtual or In-person?”
Both of them are amazing. I personally was a virtual student, but I’ve met a lot of in-person students.
It really just depends on where you live, how far you’re willing to travel, etc.
I will say, though, that in-person definitely gives you more chances to do mini-field trips with your fellow innovators, but those opportunities are still open to virtual students as well if they can travel there.
“What do you do during sessions, and how long are they?”
The session is three hours, but it honestly goes by within the blink of an eye.
Typically, you’ll join, your director will ask you how the week was so far, a few of you will speak, and then you MIGHT have a focus presentation (one of your fellow innovators will show what they’re working on within their focus in the form of a presentation), then it’s time to learn about whatever you’re learning about that week.
Let’s say that week you’ve been told to learn about gene editing; your director is going to give an overview of that emerging tech/problem.
What companies are working on it, what are the challenges, how it works, etc. Then, normally, you’ll break off to work in groups to work on an activity.
So, you might be told to build a pitch within an hour based on a challenge that interests you in gene editing — how would you solve it?
You might be tasked to build a one-pager, or you might work in a program with your fellow innovators trying to figure out how it works and build something.
After that, you’re called back to the main room, you discuss and go over what you just did and some takeaways + insights, and then BOOM, the session is over.
“What’s a focus?”
When you join, you’ll choose between a science or tech focus, which you’ll find on the TKS.LIFE website.
You’ll choose from one of the emerging tech explore modules, and that’s what you’ll learn during your time at TKS. It’s what you’ll build projects and write articles on.
Think of it like a college major or concentration, except more fun.
“What’s the time commitment?”
It really all depends on you. There’s no set time you have to commit, but it all affects your experience.
The more time you commit or the more diligent you are with the time you spend make your experience more worthwhile. You get out of TKS what you put in.
“So, if you put in a ton of work, do you get more benefits?”
Nothing is ever handed to you in TKS. You have to work for it and earn it.
So, as long as you work hard and have high standards for yourself, yeah, you will end up getting more benefits, whether it be internships, opportunities, or personal growth.
“What do you do during the week? What was the workload?”
Again, it’s really up to you. But they do set requirements for you to watch an explore module that week before the session and send action items, takeaways, and insights after sessions.
You SHOULD work on your focus as soon as you find you have time and schedule time aside for it. That’s what you should do during the week and what I wish I’d done more of.
“Do you ACTUALLY get internships and other opportunities?”
Like I said, you have to work for and earn everything in TKS. So yeah, if you commit to the program, manage your time well, and actually follow what they’re saying, it will pay off.
For me personally, my journey was more about growth because I had a lot of things I needed to work on.
Even though I did want an internship, I just wasn’t ready, but I’m still happy with the growth I had in the program. TRUST ME, me now and me before TKS were two different people.
“What about the companies you work with?”
This was one of my favorite parts as well honestly. We don’t exactly get to work with any company directly, like one-on-one, it’s more like challenges. For example, one of the challenges we had to figure out was for Meta and their safety issues. You work in groups to solve this issue and whoever wins the challenge can go on to present their idea even further and has the possibility of even getting it implemented. Other challenges were with TikTok, World Economic Forum, etc.
“When do they send decisions?”
It varies from person to person. Some wait a month, others a week. Just be patient, I promise you the decision letter is on its way.
“I’m not really into tech or science; I don’t have a background in it; will it still be worth it for me?”
THIS WAS ME! I am creative at heart, okay? A filmmaker. Tech and science were never my thing. To be honest, how did I even get accepted? That’s what I often asked myself. I didn’t understand.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have a background in tech or science. This is such a common misconception. The program isn’t just about tech or science. It’s not just about hackathons or working with cool companies, and it sure as HAIL isn’t about having something to look good on your college apps.
It’s about life.
Your directors care about you, okay? They want to help you improve, not just skill-wise, but mindset-wise. They want to give you life advice. They want to be there for you if you let them.
You’ll find your passion here if you haven’t already, and if you already have, you’ll find new ways to look at your passion to make an impact. For me? It’s finding the future of film in emerging technology.
You’ll build skills in business, critical thinking, deep thinking, asking good questions, and so much more.
So, it doesn’t matter what you like doing. If you like challenges and you want to see yourself grow, then this is the program for you.
“Do you work with groups?”
For your focus? No.
In hackathons, moonshots, challenges, and during sessions? Yes.
“Is it a scam?”
This is a message I wrote to my program director because I felt the growth right after the program. I realized where I started and where I am today. I would not take, like, thirty minutes of my time to write this if I truly did not appreciate everything TKS has encouraged me to do. I would not even write this article, which is taking me two nights to write if I didn’t feel so grateful and want more people to have this experience.
So, no. In no way is it a scam. However, if you don’t put in the work and join the program, you’ll feel that way.
“What’s the value you got from it?”
I didn’t get an internship. I didn’t go to any crazy in-person events, but that’s because of me. As I said, my journey was more of a personal growth journey that I’m still continuing on even after TKS.
The values I got from it were mindsets, confidence, improving and developing new skills, and a belief in myself I didn’t even know existed within me.
Tips and Advice 🤲
FOR ALL THAT IS HOLY, do not look at your fellow innovators as competition; build each other up, and if you find an opportunity, share it. The most important thing is the community, and honestly, I have no bad blood with any of my fellow innovators because we all just got along so well. And I don’t even know all of them super well aside from a few, but I always love talking to them.
As soon as you get into TKS, boom — you just got like 300+ friends (that’s a guess, I actually have no clue how many innovators there were across all the programs 😭). Now you have to nurture those relationships.
Commit to challenges and your focus. Don’t go ghost on your team during challenges; it’s hurting both of you. If you commit to a time and say you’ll work with them, do exactly that, and make sure to do the same with your focus. Even though you work on that solo, it’s just as important, TRUST ME.
WATCH THE EXPLORE MODULES!!! To be honest, I feel like most weeks, we all watched them late and sometimes couldn’t finish, but the sessions were so much better when you actually watched the explore modules and could have a discussion, so don’t skip them.
Definitely read the playbooks. This will make your experience so much richer; you can read them as you need or weekly. Either way, it’s a good investment of time.
One last thing I appreciate about the whole of TKS is that it’s preparing you in every aspect for the future, whether you want to be a leader or not. It prepares you to be a high-functioning member of society and encourages you to think differently. It encourages you to pursue what makes you happy. It encourages you to make an impact through the things you enjoy.
And that’s something I think my director (and other directors as well) did incredibly well. So, a big thank you to Aatik Chopra (my director) and all of the other wonderful TKS directors who have helped foster the community I love so much.
So, if you can’t decide whether or not to join — just join. I can honestly say that if you follow the advice alumni give you, you’ll have one of the best experiences.
Oh, and you don’t just have to take my word for it, check out these articles and videos by other innovates and even the directors and founders themselves;
AND THAT’S IT!!
