Friday, July 8, 2011

A Beautiful Rainy Day

Yesterday the weather was 88 degrees, so I assumed that today would be the similar. You can therefore imagine my surprise when I stepped into the pouring rain in my sundress and Tevas. However the weather outside was warm enough that it wasn’t a problem, and we headed over to Wellesley University for our tour.
To be honest, I wasn’t very excited for the tour because I knew that I didn’t want to go to an all women’s college. But when we got there, I was amazed. It was the most beautiful college I have ever seen, with the most beautiful buildings and dorms, all nestled into an immense green forest. I was further impressed with the academic offerings and what the tour guide told us of student involvement and the learning environment created when males aren’t present in the classrooms. Although the campus was gorgeous and the learning environment appealed to me, I don’t think I would like the social aspect of living with all women.
After the tour, we went to Blue Ginger for a lunch with Wellesley’s admissions officer for California, Lucy Pellum We learned a lot from her about how the admissions officers at Wellesley ensure that they make the right choices. One of the unique ways they do this is have current Wellesley students participate in the admissions process.
The food itself was delicious, and I had the most amazing lobster wontons and homemade ginger ale. I think we all learned a lot from Lucy, and she learned a lot about the Ivy League Connection and our school district.
After this lunch was the first time we had an extended period of free time available to us. We chose to use this time by exploring (aka shopping) around our hotel. It was nice to get a break from our busy schedule, and I felt that I was able to get to know more about Providence.
Finally we had dinner at Camille’s, a very nice Italian restaurant on Federal Hill. We were joined by Guy Sanchez, an ’80 Brown alumnus, and his wife Joan, a Wellesley alumnus. Both of them had a lot to say, and we had some very interesting discussions and debates. One of those discussions was about our essay prompt for admission into the Ivy League Connection. It was interesting to see and discuss the other girls’ views about teen pregnancy and childcare in regards to its effects on district funding and education. When dinner finished, Mr. Ramsey briefly showed us some of Federal Hill, and then we returned to our hotel. Now I will take advantage of getting back early enough to possibly get more than 5 hours of sleep! I have to be rested for Harvard tomorrow!

1 comment:

  1. Caroline,

    I always find it amusing to hear people (women) who will wail that they're tired and can barely move but then show them a place to shop and they become rejuvenated. It's just amazing.

    On that essay prompt: the writings of your group on that subject was fascinating. I don't recall the exact prompt but I recall that it asked whether having day care centers in our high schools was a prudent use of the District's limited funds. The essays that you all wrote were so powerful and illuminating that I sent copies of them to our school board members. Adults can say anything they want but when it comes from the students I think it has more of an impact.

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