Flourishing Youth Academy (FYA) is a design-thinking academy for young people ages 11-26. It offers experiential, strengths-based programs that help young people build creative confidence, self-awareness, and real-world skills through human-centered design and the science of human flourishing.

FYA programs—like the F3 Fellowship, Life Design and FutureMakers Labs—are designed to help youth learn how to design meaningful lives, work, and ventures aligned with their strengths and values. Learning is hands-on, project-based, and rooted in global citizenship, creativity, and well-being.

The F3 Fellowship is designed for middle and high school students who are curious, creative, and interested in learning how to design meaningful work in the real world. No prior business or design experience is required. The 2026-27 cohort is open to middle school students only.

F3 combines the science of human flourishing with human-centered design and entrepreneurship. Fellows don’t just learn concepts—they apply them by designing and launching a real venture while building confidence, creativity, and self-awareness.

The Fellowship follows a seasonal flourishing-centered design process:

• Insights & Ideas (Spring / Early Summer)
  Fellows explore their character strengths, interests, and values, study the science of human flourishing, and learn human-centered design to inform the design challenge that will fuel their start up venture

• Innovations (Late Summer / Early Fall)
  Fellows turn ideas into action by building prototypes, testing solutions, learning from feedback, and refining their ventures. This phase includes the global creativity immersion, where Fellows study innovation and culture through a global lens.

• Integration (Late Fall / Winter)
  Fellows strengthen what works, integrate lessons learned, and develop skills in storytelling, pitching, and reflection—connecting their experience to future academic, career, and life pathways.

Fellows meet twice weekly:

• Mondays (1.5 hours): virtual sessions (Zoom)

• Saturdays (4 hours): in-person sessions

• Note: This schedule is flexible & will be finalized once the cohort of fellows is selected to ensure maximum participation.

• Additional time may be spent on team projects, especially during key design phases.

• In-person sessions are held locally. Exact locations are shared with accepted families prior to the program start.

Travel is an integral part of the learning experience and focuses on creativity, culture, and innovation.

Each year the annual cohort of F3 Fellows includes a global creativity immersion journey to one of the world’s most creative locations.

2026 Destination: Barcelona, Spain (June 27 – July 6, 2026).

The design team and chaperones will stay together in a group lodging that will be organized by the FYA and a Barcelona F3 Fellows Immersion Journey Guide with detailed information will be provided

The program is led by experienced educators and designers with backgrounds in human-centered design, well-being science, and youth development, supported by mentors and local partners.

Fellows receive group mentorship, guided coaching, and structured feedback throughout the year. The environment emphasizes encouragement, collaboration, and growth.

Students can apply through the online application here

Cohorts are intentionally small (no more than 12 fellows) to operate like a cohesive design team and to ensure meaningful relationships, personalized support, and high-quality learning experiences.

The total cost of the F3 Fellowship reflects a full year of instruction, mentoring, project-based learning, and a global creativity immersion journey.

Program Tuition Covers:
The year-long Fellowship experience, including weekly sessions (virtual and in-person), curriculum, mentorship, coaching, and project support.

Global Creativity Immersion (Barcelona, Spain):
Travel costs included are: lodging, local transportation, programming, and cultural experiences.

Not Included:

• Local transport to FYA activities

• Airfare & airport transfers to/from Barcelona

Total Program Cost

• $6,000 per student for the full 2026–2027 F3 Fellowship experience.

• A 50% tuition reduction is available for families who commit to supporting the launch of the F3 Fellowship and volunteering with the inaugural cohort.

• Details about volunteer roles and expectations are shared during the application process.

• Payment Structure: Installment payment schedule shared upon acceptance
  
  At this stage, the F3 Program does not offer financial aid.