Mentorship Outing

Today, the Brown mentorship group went on our first outing since the dinner. Unfortunately most of the mentors couldn’t make it, but all five mentees were present. We were joined by Mr. Ramsey, Brown alums Susan, Peter, and Alice, Elizabeth, a current senior at Brown, and Irene and Guadelupe, former ILC members and incoming Brown students. We took BART to San Francisco, where we ate lunch at Chevy’s and watched Billy Elliot.

Lunch at Chevy's

At lunch, I sat next to Elizabeth and chatted with her about her experiences at Brown. She is majoring in Sociology but is also doing Portuguese Studies, something she told me she became interested at Brown. Hearing her stories made me realize that students in college discover their passions in college and often change their major, no matter how set they were on it before. I also learned that Brown during the school year is not quite the same as it had been for us at Summer@Brown. There are more events going on and of course, more people on campus, adding to a whole new vibe at Brown.

All the Brownies

After we finished eating, we headed to the Orpheum Theatre to watch Billy Elliot, a musical about a young boy aspiring to be a ballet dancer. I had heard praises about the show from Beilul, a Columbia cohort who saw it on Broadway. In addition, I had never seen a musical before, adding even more to my excitement. I wasn’t disappointed. The show was entertaining and inspiring.

After three weeks of being home, I miss life at Brown so I enjoyed our “reunion” with fellow Brownies. My mentor, Raquel, couldn’t make it today, but we’ve been contacting each other and are planning a meet-up. This mentorship program has been great, and I’m looking forward to future mentorship events.

First Mentor Event

It’s been a while since I wrote about Brown activities, but it is a school that always finds a way back into my life, so I expect to write more about it now and in the future. This time I went to the Orpheus Theater with my mentor and the rest of the Brown mentees. Only my mentor was able to come, so I had another opportunity to talk to Susan.

After we arrived at San Francisco, we went to Chevy’s. Susan and I sat together and we talked about Brown, about school and about next year. I wish I could recall the conversations that Susan and I had, but acting on the wisdom she gave is the ideal. She gave me great advice for my Environmental Club for the coming year, for instance, trusting officers that the club elects, or in context, why people wouldn’t be trusted. We had a rant about projects where only one person did the project. Susan also is going to connect me with someone she is friends with who works at Biorad. However, I found a problem that they only give internships to college students entering sophomore or junior year. Susan still encourages me to apply because her friend said that I would be a good intern and they needed interns. Later this week I will probably contact her friend, and then I could see whether or not I can apply.

After we were ready and the play was about to start, we walked a few blocks to the Theater. We had about four minutes before the play started, so we came at the perfect time. We watched “Billy Elliot the Musical,” and for what I was told, it was a musical based off a film. The story follows Billy’s dream of becoming a ballet dancer while a nation-wide coal strike happens. His parent, since his mother is dead, disapproves of his ballet dream but later accepts Billy and supports him in his London recital to a prestigious dance school. After Billy is accepted to the school, the strike fails. It has a bittersweet ending, but the actors have well placed humor that ends the play focusing on Billy.

The play was a great time to spend time with my mentor, while watching a play that I would have never heard about but nonetheless enjoyed.