Orientation - What We've All Been Waiting For

This day had been circled many times on my calendar. I'm sure someone who just walked into my room and saw all the circling around June 2nd would've wondered, "What is so important that is going on on June 2nd?" And I would have told them, "The orientation for Ivy League Connection!"

I arrived at around 6:10 PM with my dad at the El Cerrito High School library. This orientation was not just for Brownies, it was for everyone in the ILC! Like I have stated in previous blog posts, there are few occurrences where all or at least half of the ILC kids will be together. It was nice to see some of my other friends (who don't attend ECHS with me) in different programs and talk with them about their excitement. Everyone is very anxious for their programs to start; some leave the week after school gets out for the summer.

My dad, Mrs. Kronenberg, and Mr. Rhea gave inspirational speeches about the program and it's importance. They also preached the rules that have been drilled into us. It was very informative, but at the same time I was wondering when the night would spice up a bit.

The night definitely spiced up when ILC alums were announced! Kiana Ward ('09) and Cynthia Fong ('10) not only graduated from ECHS, but they went to Brown through the ILC (Cynthia also went to University of Pennsylvania the summer before her junior year), but they currently attend Brown University! I had never met Kiana before, but her name sometimes comes up in conversations, always positively. I met Cynthia last school year, and she has always been amazingly sweet, generous, and charismatic, so I was excited to see her again and catch up with her. But I was also interested in meeting Kiana.

When we went off into breakout sessions with our chaperones,  Kiana went with us (Cynthia went to talk to Brown [Session 1] and those attending U-Penn). After Ms. Williams explained more rules and about the colleges we will be visiting, we were allowed to ask Kiana questions.

Even though Kiana took the Women & Leadership course about three years ago, she tried as best as she could to fully remember her experience. It was also interesting to learn that she had applied to Brown under Early Decision (which is binding), so her love for Brown obviously shone through. I learned a lot from her testimonies and cannot wait for July 5th to come.

The orientation just made me want to hop on a plane and go to Rhode Island! I am simply ecstatic and cannot wait for summer to come.

Better Late than Never, Right?

It is approximately one month until we leave for Brown, but I am just now writing my first blog. At this point everyone is probably thinking, "When is ILC going to kick this flake out of the program?"

Well I can assure everyone that the ILC administration is still on top of their game. My absences from the blog tutorial, the School Board meeting, and the dinner at One Market were unfortunately due to medical complications. However, I am happy to announce that my doctors cleared me for full participation in all of the activities at Brown. I simply cannot wait.

In any case, I had to have the blog tutorial much later than everybody else. Fortunately, I was able to have a one-on-one session with Don Gosney today at 4:00 PM. Because there were only two of us, I was able to ask as many questions as I wanted, and the two of us were able to get through all of the material rather quickly and efficiently.

The blogging procedure was very informative to somebody like me, who knew nothing about blogging prior to the tutorial. In the past I had thought of blogging as simply a tool to advertise the scholarship program in hopes for donations, but I now realize that it serves a much greater purpose. Having to blog forces us to actively think about everything that we are doing, to be aware of how an experience is effecting us, or what impact it may have on us in the future. This constant reflection improves our critical thinking, and the constant blogging improves our writing. Thinking about blogging in this way will hopefully make it seem like less of a chore and more of a device for intellectual development.

The Epitome of our Future - College

Last night, I went to a college fair at the Marriott Hotel in Oakland. There were several local people at this event that I happened to spot: Julia Martien, an El Cerrito High School junior who will be attending the University of Pennsylvania Physics Academy through The Ivy League Connection this summer, and my two fellow Brownies Kathleen and Erin K.! It was very nice to see them at the end.

Brown University ~ Van Wickle Gates

Five colleges were presenting at this faire (in this order): Columbia University in Manhattan (NY), Cornell University in Ithaca (NY), Rice University in Houston (TX), University of Chicago in Chicago (IL), and Brown University in Providence (RI).

The University of Chicago

The presentation that interested me the most was Brown. Keith Light, one of the Admissions Directors at Brown, was humorous, had tremendous grace, and obviously has a deep love for Brown (ironically, he went to school in California - Stanford!). I was happy to be able to ask him a couple of questions after the presentations were done.

Columbia University

The other schools that interested me were Columbia and Cornell. I liked the environment surrounding Cornell (there was a slideshow for each school) and the academics. I also really enjoyed the New York atmosphere from Columbia and the academics and friendliness the school seemed to have. I have two friends who attend both of those schools respectively (and a couple of friends who attend Brown and will be attending Brown in the fall) who just finished their freshman year and definitely enjoyed their experience.

Cornell University

College fairs are always exciting to me. Like I have stated before, I like experts who propose challenges. What struck me was how all the presenters stressed the fact that the admissions officers are not looking for the people with the highest GPA, the best SAT score, the highest number of community service hours, and who founded the most clubs. They are looking for people who are going to thrive in their schools and change the world. One of the presenters clearly stated: "We are not looking for well-rounded people. We are looking for individualists."

Rice University

Of course, having all those well-rounded qualities never hurts, but colleges do not want robots. They want the person who wants to learn MORE about the robots and try inventing one; someone who comes up with their own rules.

Overall, the college fair was very interesting, and I'm glad I went! Just thought I'd share that with my Brownies!

Representing the City of Hercules

Despite living in Hercules for seven years, I had never been to a City Council meeting until this Tuesday night. Our group of eight ILCers (four Cornell “hotelies”, two Columbia cohorts, and two Brownies) residing in Hercules was invited to speak on behalf of our program at the meeting held in the Council Chambers in the Hercules City Hall. Of the eight, I was only one who did not attend Hercules High School, although I am very much affiliated with the city as a Hanna Ranch Elementary and Hercules Middle School graduate. That’s why I feel proud to represent not only my school but also the city of Hercules on the east coast.

We were informed in advance that we each had to say a few words to the Council expressing what the program meant to us. I slightly prepared what I was going to say mentally, but when I saw that Beilul Naizghi, one of the Columbia cohorts, had written her speech out, a wave of panic swept through me. However, my anxiety eased when I saw that other students didn’t have anything written down either.

The ILC was first on the meeting agenda. After Hercules Mayor Joanne Ward began the meeting, she introduced Mr. Ramsey and Ms. Ishmael, the assistance principal at Hercules High School. Mr. Ramsey described our program to the people in the room and anyone who was watching at home. He highlighted the process of getting into the program—from writing essays to being interviewed to, most of all, being selected from a pool of highly competitive individuals—and really made us look impressive. Ms. Ismael introduced her students while Mr. Ramsey called me, the lone but very proud Middle College student, up.

One by one, we were asked to speak. Being the last one to talk induced my nerves to build up. I tried to rehearse in my head, but words kept slipping my mind. However, as I walked to the podium, I began to feel confident and ready to speak. I had no reason to be nervous; everyone was encouraging and attentive to what we had to say. I think all of us did a commendable job in representing the ILC. After we finished, Mr. Ramsey called up Yueming Wang, a Hercules High School senior and former ILC Cornell and Columbia cohort who will be matriculating to Cornell in the fall. She expressed her gratitude and spoke about how the program ultimately helped her choose Cornell over UC Berkeley. Yueming is a great example of the impact that the ILC delivers.

The night ended with us gathering together with the Council for a group picture. Don directed us into our places and like usual, shot too many pictures to count. After our picture, we thanked the Council members and gathered outside the City Hall for some last words from Mr. Ramsey and Don. They warned us to be on time at next week’s orientation or have our plane tickets canceled. A subtle warning, but I get the drift. I look forward to being extra early for the orientation.

Lastly, I want to thank the Hercules City Council for giving us their attention.

City Council Challenge

City Council meetings are familiar to me. I watch them every Tuesday night the meeting is held as my mother wishes to know the issues and the progress of our city events, and I get reviews from my father who is a member of the City Council. Yet, the difference this time, I was going to talk.

I have been to these meeting for Hercules Teen Youth Council, but those words were scripted and divided among the many other participants in the group. I did not have as much worry because the words were short and there were only ten people in the audience, mostly parents, and I did not have as much pressure then. The words I spoke on Tuesday night were my own, words that I could form to vocalize what I wanted others to understand about the opportunity of the ILC program, and I could ruin that form with an incoherent design created from my own spontaneous words and possibly my note card.

That night, as compared to other nights, I represented myself, but also how my parents who raised me. I went up to speak what I was doing, my achievements that my community and school helped to shape—I was not just accompanying my father to one of “his” meetings.

 Before the meeting Yeuming told us that these meetings did not have a large attendance, apart from the parents and the few that watch the meeting from the cable channel. Despite the assurance, getting up in front of a camera and the four City Council members is still a daunting task. I was being judged by myself and the rest of the room.

Usually when I speak in front of a classroom I always have a note card with instructions on how I will organize my speech, despite the preparation when I was finished speaking the note card was not more than a wad of crumpled paper. I don’t understand how Kelly and Beilul, who prepared their speeches before hand, were able to calmly read their speech without being conscious of the awkward pause each time they looked down at the paper for the next line to read.

 After everyone had spoken, we stopped the entire meeting, and took it off air, just to take a few pictures—I guess the ILC is an honor of the community that must come first. I am proud that our community is so accepting of the ILC to the point that we are incorporated into the meetings, that we can—if students hear our speeches—inspire other students to take the challenge and apply for the ILC for the years to come.

The Hercules City Council Hosts the ILC

The evening was a beautiful climax to a typical Spring day here in West County.  The Hercules City Council opened their meeting as they have so many times in the past by welcoming the Hercules residents who are cohorts of the Ivy League Connection.

After the warm welcome from Mayor Joanne Ward, West Contra Costa Unified School Distirct School Board President Charles Ramsey explained to the gathered crowd--and those watching on TV from the comfort of their homes--about the history of the program and how the program positively affects so many of the young people from our community.

Following Mr. Ramsey, Hercules High Assistant Principal Terri Ishmael spoke on the application process and how these cohorts went from the "what's this all about" stage to the "what time does our first class start" stage.  Ms. Ishmael introduced the cohorts and invited each of them to step to the microphone to talk about their own involvement in the ILC.

Concluding the presentation, and before the traditional group photo, former ILC cohort and Hercules resident (and the big sister of current Columbia Constitutional Law cohort Eric Wang) spoke about how her own participation as a two time ILCer affected her.  Yueming Wang was a Hotelie at Cornell two years ago and last summer she attended the Presidential Powers course at Columbia University.

Yueming eloquently spoke of how she was a dyed in the wool Cal Bear fan until she saw what else was available to her.  After attending Cornell and Columbia her views towards Cal were altered-altered to the point where she will be studying engineering at Cornell starting this Fall.

What was clear this evening, as it has been since the beginning, the ILC saw once again that the Hercules community stands firmly behind their young students and if the ILC will help their young members of the community, then the Hercules community stands behind the ILC.

Start Strong, Finish Stronger!

The 2011 Ivy League Connection year is full under way. Collectively we have attended blogging tutorials, fancy dinners, and School Board meetings. Each one of these events is training us to not only to be successful teenagers, but move into adulthood.
The blogging tutorial held in the Hercules Public Library seemed to be long, but was quite productive. In this approximately two hour session Don discussed with us the do’, don’ts and intricacies to blogging properly. This was a great experience not only because we all learned the proper way to blog, but because for the first time I was able to meet the majority of my cohorts in the ILC. Someone once told me that every experience you have, you should learn or gain something from it. Well from this experience I was able to gain motivation because for the first time in a while I was able to see a group of focused, yet enjoyable group of young people like myself.
My Brown group was fortunate enough to dine at the One Market Restaurant in San Francisco, California. This event allowed me to meet and mingle with my fellow cohorts who will be embarking on the same journey as me in the near future. I was able to meet with their parents, district employees, future Brown students, Brown alumni, and financial supporters of the ILC. The great range of diversity amongst all the attendees helped to make this a great event. I was fortunate to give a speech representing Brown Session I (Macroeconomics and Biochemistry). Ava Burnell also spoke representing Brown Session II (Women in Leadership). Both of us gave good speeches, but I think that her speech might have been a little more riveting.
The School Board Meeting was a wonderful experience because all of the ILC cohorts attended (minus a sick Caroline Umali). We were all dressed very nicely if I may so myself. Our chaperones gave short speeches to let the School Board, and community know some details and general ideas pertaining to our voyages. Future 2011 enrollees of Brown, Yale, Colombia, and Cornell also gave speeches. All of these students were participants in the Ivy League Connection, so you can see the fruits of the ILC’s labor.
So far our 2011 ILC group has impressed me, and we are all doing well. I am sure we will continue to keep this up, and I look forward to commencing our journey.