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A personal perspective on the Program in Algorithmic and Combinatorial Thinking (PACT) - Group 1
By Arjun Ryan Srivastava
After reading the program’s description online and hearing enthusiastic stories from my older brother, a past participant, I decided to join the PACT Group 1 Summer program on the University of Pennsylvania campus. Yet no curriculum outline or summary could have captured the depth of learning, sense of community, and personal transformation that awaited me.
The PACT curriculum is rigorous, covering topics like combinatorics, graph theory, probability, and proof writing. But I soon realized it wasn’t about memorizing techniques or formulas. It was about reshaping the way I thought. Mornings brought lectures that sparked new ideas, and afternoons immersed me in problem sets that pushed those ideas further. Some of the problems felt impossible at first, but with determination and a bit of “wishful thinking,” I took them on. I had nothing to lose and no grades that would be permanently imprinted on a transcript. I grew to love the moment when everything suddenly clicked, the joy of an unexpected solution, and the elegance of a well-written proof.
My classmates came from all over the world, and what struck me most wasn’t just their brilliance, but the variety in how they thought. Some were super-fast problem solvers; others were patient, meticulous thinkers who found beauty in every detail. Working alongside such diverse minds challenged me to see problems from perspectives I might never have discovered on my own.
I’ll admit, being surrounded by so much talent was intimidating at the start, and it would have been easy for me to stay in the background. But our teacher, Dr. Gandhi, created an atmosphere where curiosity was celebrated over perfection, and this encouraged me to be brave. I learned to speak up, to see confusion as the first step toward understanding, and to treat challenges as opportunities. The program was supported by TAs, mentors, and past PACT alumni who led recitations and answered questions; we also heard inspiring talks from some of the brightest people in their respective fields. In this setting, Dr. Gandhi pushed me just beyond what felt comfortable while ensuring I felt safe to ask questions, make mistakes, and test bold ideas. Our classroom became a place where intellectual risk-taking felt natural.
And as the weeks went by, my classmates and I shared the struggles and satisfaction of Math problems, conversations, meals, laundry, and weekend trips. We worked things out. By the final week, PACT had stopped feeling like a program and started feeling like home. I left PACT more confident in my ability to tackle the unknown and thankful for the incredible opportunity.