Last Blog From Home

I can’t believe I only have a couple more hours until my East-Coast adventure begins! My mom and I were talking about how fast time has flown this summer—it seems like it’s barely been a month since I found out I was being offered a scholarship at the University of Chicago.

My check in luggage all packed

I have to admit, I’m kind of nervous. About the class (such as the reports, and debates we’ll have to do)—will I be ready for the rigorous education UChicago has? Have the previous reports and debates I’ve done equipped me with the tools I need to contribute to thought-provoking discussions?

My carry-on

My dad has a recorder, and he records almost every major event on it. Earlier today, I watched videos from a party about a year ago. To be honest, I was shocked to discover the difference between the ways I acted then and how I act now—I was considerably less mature then. It brought to mind the parents who say they’ve seen their children change after taking an ILC course. I think I, too, will be transformed by the ILC. I wonder what kind of Dani I’ll be watching a month from now (because I have no doubt my dad will want to bring the recorder to the airport when I come home).

Though I’m nervous, I also feel SO excited for this trip!!! I’m excited to meet people who value education as much as I do at UChicago, as well as meet those who have worked hard academically and reached success in their school and job (like the alums, tour guides, and students we’ll meet).

Laptop case, minus the laptop (which I'll get tomorrow)

I’m excited to travel and live away from home, though I’ll miss my friends and family a lot. I think a big part of the reason I’m nervous about the class is because I know that if I do well there, it could change my—and therefore my each member of my family’s—life. It’s also a bit unnerving to be one of only five people who are representing the rest of our district.

 

Snacks? Check!

However, I don’t believe in coincidences—I believe everything happens for a reason. My being picked was no exception; I’m ready to see where this amazing trip will take me!

Ready to go!

It's Almost Time

If I can tell time correctly, there is about seven more hours before we are to meet up at El Cerrito High School. After a week of getting prepared, the excitement is finally starting to hit me. My bags are packed, I've tripled checked that I have both my ID and my medical card, now, all that's left for me to do is wait. Only if that was as easy as it sounds.

For this trip, I'm going to need to learn how to take things slowly and not get ahead of myself. This is a bad habit I have which doesn't allow me to enjoy the present. This is especially important to me because everything is going to be moving fast pace as we go from city to city and I want to be able to enjoy the moment. Another thing I'm going to have to learn is how to be a college student. I'm not going to have my mom there to help keep me organized and to tell me what I need to do (I'm really going to miss her), I have to do all of that by myself. I feel like it will most definitely be a shock to me but I just have to take it day by day and pause to take a breather when I need it.

My mind seems to be going at 100 the time keeps on ticking. I keep thinking about what the schools will be like, what the University of Chicago itself will be like, if I will get too cold or too hot, and whether or not I'm forgetting anything. I'm hoping that I can calm down and get a few hours of sleep before it's time to leave. This is proving to be especially difficult since my sleeping pattern has been off since we ended school. I've said my goodbyes to friends and family, all that's left to do is leave.

Preparing to Leave

Washington University in St. Louis

I have a lot to think about as I finish packing and doing last minute preparations for our trip to the East coast. There is much to be anticipated and I think that at first, I will have to go into this trip thinking one day at a time, rather than getting ahead of myself. After all, I have many experiences and events ahead of me in the next couple of weeks. First we will be visiting Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Then we will be visiting multiple universities in Washington D.C., the University of Pennsylvania and lastly, the universities in Chicago. First we'll visit Northwestern University, and then, of course, the University of Chicago, where I will be staying for the remainder of my trip. All of the college tours and dinners with alumni, admissions officers, and students of the universities are taking place within the first week, so there will be a lot of information to take in. 

The goal of this trip is to learn as much as possible about the college experience and what each of us students would look for in a school personally. The goal is also to bring back what we have learned and share and apply this knowledge in our communities and lives. Besides getting a taste of the college experience by attending a class, living in the dorms, eating at the dining halls, and meeting people with new perspectives on college life, I will be learning about developmental psychology. I am really excited about this class because I have always been interested in health and medicine, and psychology definitely intersects. I have looked at the textbook briefly and I cannot wait to learn more. 

Since I will be away from home for a month, it is likely that I will feel homesick and miss my family at some point, but luckily, I have been away from home for extended periods of time before, and I am sure I will have more than enough to focus on besides missing home. I feel so grateful to have received this amazing opportunity that will open many doors for me in the future and will allow me to grow and mature as a person. I am going to try to get at least a couple of hours of rest before I have to wake up at two in the morning to start the big trip!

University of Pennsylvania

One of the many universities my cohort and I will be visiting when we are on the east coast, is the University of Pennsylvania. This university is in an urban environment, right inside Philadelphia. Because it is in an urban environment, the layout of the campus is more compact than spread out, with the core campus covering about 300 acres. It is an Ivy League university that was established in 1740, and it considers itself to be the first university to have both a school for undergraduate students, and a school for graduate students. Within the undergraduate section, there are four different schools: 1) The College at Penn ( arts and sciences), 2) The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, 3) The School of Nursing, and lastly 4) The Wharton School of Business. Coincidentally, my grandfather was the dean of the Wharton School of Business for a period of time.

One of the aspects of academics the University of Pennsylvania puts emphasis on is research. It has a research budget of $899 billion dollars, and it is a nationally ranked research university, one of the top five. It has a very good student to faculty ratio, which is 6:1. UPenn is highly selective, and according to Forbes, it is the sixth most selective school, with an average of a 10% acceptance rate.

Some aspects of the social life on campus include Greek life. From what I have read about what alumni have today, Greek life is prominent at the UPenn campus, although it does not completely dominate the social aspect of the school. One thing that concerned me a bit, was the amount of diversity on campus. 42% of the student body was White, 33% was unreported or unknown, 12.8% was Asian, and all other races including Black, Hispanic, Native American, were all less than 6%. I think that for me personally, the amount of ethnic diversity at a school would be an important aspect that I would value greatly. 

What I do like about the university is that it is in a city, so you are not constricted to being just on the campus, and you can learn about and be part of the city as well. The university also emphasizes research, which is something I would hope to do some day. I cannot wait to visit the school and see if it is how I expected it to be, and if not, how it will be different. 

Georgetown University

Jack the Bulldog

Georgetown University, which our Chicago cohort will be visiting on July 9^th, is one of the nation’s best universities. Its history, renowned academic programs, and religious affiliation make it one of a kind.

Founded in 1789 by John Carroll and located in Washington, D.C., Georgetown U is the oldest private Catholic and Jesuit institute of higher learning in the country. Patrick F. Healy, the first African American to earn a Ph.D. and head a major U.S. university (who is often considered the second founder of Georgetown U ), reformed the university’s curriculum. He lengthened the medical and law programs, created the Alumni Association, and headed the construction of Healy Hall.

Healy Hall

After the Civil War, Georgetown students chose blue (the color of Union uniforms) and gray (the color of Confederate uniforms) as their official colors to show unity between students. Perhaps their motto, Utraque Unum (both into one), also demonstrates this unity.

The 16,000 or so students who go there have several schools to choose from: Georgetown College, Georgetown Law, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Robert E. McDonough School of Business, School of Medicine, McCourt School of Public Policy, and more.

The business program and opportunities to be involved in politics are some things that Georgetown University is known for. Ambitious political and business leaders have been shaped at Georgetown U, such as Bill Clinton, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (the former president of the Philippines), and various other governors, cabinet members, White House staff. Their basketball team, the Hoyas, is also ranked among the top basketball programs in the country.

Hoyas! 

Georgetown U's Library

Based on reviews by students, the social life there is pretty great. Though there are no Greek organizations, there are various museums, theaters, concert halls, and monuments to see, both on campus and in Washington D.C. (such as the White House, Smithsonian, Washington Monument, and Lincoln Memorial). 

Based on some reviews online, I read how there are a lot of prerequisites students have to take. The review said they had no time for extracurricular classes. Though I’m guessing that’s probably what makes Georgetown U students so great, I also want to explore new topics in college and take some extracurricular classes. I’ll try to see if that’s the case when we visit.

Based on what I read online, what I like the best about Georgetown U is their mission. They “work together to help solve… poverty, disease and conflict”, and are committed to “justice and the common good.” I even read that students spend Spring Break helping communities outside of Washington, D.C., a tradition that continues today.

Georgetown U students shaving their heads for cancer

One of the things I learned from Elspeth and others at the SF dinner is that a big part of determining which college is for you is the feeling you get when you’re actually there—when you feel that place is just right. I don’t know if Georgetown will be the one for me, but I’ll definitely be ready to find out by July 9^th.

The Orientation at Pinole Middle

This evening there was an orientation where all the ILCers, chaperones, and parents had to attend, which took place at Pinole Middle School. I was so nervous because I ended coming late due to a family emergency but luckily my grandmother was there to take me. I'm glad I made it to the orientation anyways.

At the beginning of the orientation Don introduced himself and the chaperones again to the parents. After, he talked about the forms and things we would be talking about tonight. He then told us that we would be seperating into breakout sessions with our groups.

Our Chicago group went over the things we will be doing on our way to Chicago like visitingdifferent colleges before we arrive at the school. It's amazing to hear that we will be meeting more alums from the different schools. After the breakout session, the cohorts returned to the multipurpose room.

To finish up the orientation Don informed us about the checklist of stuff we might need for the trip to our colleges and what to expect when we get to our colleges. After hearing more of what to expect from Ms. Kronenberg, Don informed the parents and cohorts about the things we could borrow if we didn't have certain things like a fan or a suitcase. I'm glad I was able to get this information and knowing that I could be able to borrow material for this trip.

Essential Information Orientation

On my way to the orientation I was nervous because I did the first thing that Don told us not to do and that was forgetting my contact form. I did not wanted to take out evil Don today and I did not wanted to look unprofessional. I knew Don was not going to be happy about me forgetting the contact form after he email me a thousands of remainders. Luckily, my big brother Byron was at home and I gave him a called  to ask him if he do me the favor of bringing me the form.  Fortunately, my brother was able to drop off the form for me and saved me from evil Don.

At my arrival at the orientation, I got 15 minutes early because I did not wanted to be excluded from the program for a tardy issue. I did not wanted to be the one standing outside Pinole Middle School gates for being an ignorant person to go late after we were told not to be late. This is very important because this is what we have to do in every job or any other event to always be on time.  I will not let this issue be an obstacle to me and I will improve and get better at being punctual because that shows people that you are interesting to listen what they have to say.

The orientation was very helpful for my dad and I because is good to hear the same think twice or more, so it can be recorded on your mind playing over and over again.  Don gave a speech for at least 10 minutes of all the procedures and rules of the ILC.  He showed us a display of some of the things that he can loan to us the ILCers and Chaperones and like Don always says that the key is to give it back after our arrival in California.

Display loans: Cameras, Fans, Alarm clock, Mouse, Desk Lamp etc...

After Don finished with his speech we were all immediately separated as a group with our chaperon.  We went to a classroom where my cohorts, chaperon, parents and I were discussing about our trip and what university are we going to explore.  The UChicago  general itinerary has very essential information for the parents because it shows what are we going to do each day and which university are going to visit.  First we going to Washington University, after is Georgetown, then UPenn, and last but not least is Northwestern. All of this have to happened in four days so we going to be running up and down the first week.  After we finished talking about our agenda and what places will want to visit in the east coast; Alie (my chaperon) instructed some rules that she had for us so we my cohorts and I, along with the parents about texting her or calling her every time we decide to go out or to check in and no doubt to ask for help or opinion.  I believe with the information that was  giving to all the parents either by Don or a chaperon, it took out a heavy weight from the shoulders of the parents knowing more about the chaperon and where and with who their child is going to be at or around with.  Another thing that was helpful is knowing what to pack for the trip so parents can help the child pack because some of us is the first time traveling and that's even including me.

Every day goes by and I can't wait until the day that I will be  in San Francisco airport ready to take off. Even though we still have to wait one more month, it feels like July 7 is just around the corner.