Meeting Alumni at Prospect

I just got back from the highly anticipated ILC dinner with the Chicago cohort, which was held at Prospect restaurant, in San Francisco.All five members of my cohort, as well as five parents, school board members, alumni, and honorary guests, met at BART at about 5:15 PM. Everyone got there in time and we managed to catch an earlier train which was convenient. On the BART ride there, I spoke to Simon Cohen, a senior who also goes to El Cerrito High School, and who will be attending University of Chicago in the fall. We talked a little about how he got interested in the University of Chicago, and which classes he was just now finishing up before graduating.

The Chicago cohort and alumni

Luckily, once we arrived, the walk to the restaurant was short, just a couple blocks. We entered the restaurant and were led to the back to a private room. Mr. Ramsey then set up the seating arrangements and set up the name cards while everyone else introduced themselves. I met many alumni, including two women who worked together in the west coast alumni offices for University of Chicago. Their names were Elsbeth and Tammy, and though they graduated some years apart from each other, they seemed to be very close and good friends. All of the alumni that I met seemed to have graduated at very different times. One alumnus named Norman I met graduated in 1957, and another, Andrew, graduated in 2012. 

I was seated at a table with Mr. Ramsey, my mom, Andrew, Peter (A Dartmouth alumnus and ILC veteran), Erica (an honorary guest), and Mr. Blackmon, a donor. I talked to Andrew a lot about his experience at the University of Chicago. I learned about the common core at the university that requires students to take a certain number of classes of each subject. He said the common core emphasized literary classics, reading and writing, which is why he felt it was a good fit for him. However, he said this structure worked very well for his personality and interests, and would not have worked for his brother, for example. He also told me about the living situations for students. The majority of the alums described the dorm houses like the different houses at Hogwarts. The houses all had different names and sat at the same table in the dining halls.

Alums, donors, students, Alie, and parents, were all introduced and some said a few words. Before long, it was my turn to speak. I was nervous, but when I went up to speak, it was not actually so bad and I think I did pretty well. Once the nerves were gone and my little speech was over, I could enjoy my gourmet meal. For starters, I had a beet salad with truffles and greens. For the main dish, I chose the Alaskan Halibut. Lastly for dessert, I had a delicious rocky road sundae. 

The dinner was delicious, and I felt so grateful to have been able to meet with so many alumni of University of Chicago, who could give us advice and valuable information. 

ILC Tutorial Day

‘Blogging’ is my middle name

All though I usually sleep in on the weekends, I had to go to a tutorial Saturday morning. I still had a wonderful experience learning more about blogging. Being with Don and my cohorts made it more interesting because we made jokes along the way of learning. The tutorial was located at De Anza High School. Since Alexa and I were picked up, by Don, I had to wake up around 6:30 AM. He picked me up around 7:30 AM and we made it to Alexa's house around 7:45 AM and got to the school around 8 AM so Don could set the materials up for the tutorial. But even though one of our cohorts wasn't there, we still had an amazing time learning about blogging with just the four of us ILCers. (But I think it would have been even better if Dani was there.)

The most interesting part was learning how to use a card reader to download the pictures we took onto the computer so that we could put them onto MediaFire while in the process of learning how to put pictures into our blogs. You would be surprised on how much stuff we could use for technology if you don't already know about it. We also learned how to use P

hotoshop to crop pictures and make the pictures look better for our blogs. I also learned how to fix the red eyes on a photo if there are any.

Even though I didn't want to be there and I wanted to stay at home and sleep, I am glad that I went to the tutorial on Saturday because now I have more knowledge on how to blog and what blogging is about and what extras I can do on my blog. I am proud to say that I left the tutorial having a more clear understanding about blogging. I really appreciated that Don took the time to teach us how to blog while having a little fun at the same time. It really helped out to have more knowledge of it.

Blogging From Home

Blogging tutorial at home

Today was my blogging tutorial. Since I go to church on Saturdays from 8 in the morning and stay there until 8 at night, if not longer, Don gave me the choice to have a Sunday tutorial. Of course, I cleaned the house (well, the parts that Don would see) and waited for Don to come over.

He came at around 10 AM, and we got straight to work. I was ready to go straight to blogging, but he surprised me by saying the majority of the tutorial would be talking. He took out a list of things we needed to talk about so I could follow along. Once I saw how many things he needed to tell me about (54 items), I braced myself for a very long talk.

It was long, like I’d expected, but it wasn’t boring. Don added in little jokes and stories like he usually does, which helped hold my interest from item 1 to 54 (I asked for no breaks—I wanted to get it all finished at once).

We talked about basic blogging, what he expects our blogs to include (they want to hear about people we meet, what experiences we go through, what we think about things that happen to us, etc), and when he expects us to blog. 

Don's headshot, taken by me

Finally, we opened up our laptops and practiced taking pictures, adding the pictures to our blogs, and blogging itself. It was definitely helpful, though seeing Austin Long’s blog about visiting Yale (titled “Bulldog Days”) makes me want to step up my blogging game.

After that, we talked about what they expect of us, as well as important things to pack. One of the things our Chicago cohort especially has to do is describe everything at the University of Chicago. Since the program is new, and we don't know much about it, it’s important for each of us to send detailed reports back home.

The tutorial ended kind of early, so we spent a good portion of an hour talking. He told me horror and success stories about Ivy League Connection students. One success story in particular really made me see how valuable the ILC truly is. I remember Don told me the Ivy League Connection takes students to the door of opportunity—unlocking, opening, at times building a door—and introduces them to people on the other side. I'm glad I'm lucky enough to be one of those students.

School Board Presentation

Wednesday evening at Lovonya Dejean Middle School, I attended a School Board meeting along with all the other students who were accepted into the Ivy League Connection. Also in attendance were the School Board members, our chaperons, and our families. This event was a great opportunity for us to meet all the kids who were accepted and to congratulate any familiar faces that we saw. More importantly, it also allowed us to thank those who helped in any way to make all of this possible for us.

At this meeting I was asked to say a few words about how excited I am to be going to Chicago and what I will bring back to my community when all of this is over. During the planning of this mini speech, I hit the worst writers block ever and couldn't think of anything to write. I began to panic because the meeting was only in a few days and there would be a lot of people listening to what I had to say. Messing up was something that I couldn't do. After reaching out to Don and being encouraged by my Chicago group, I decided to speak from the heart instead of going in with a speech already planned.

While waiting for the meeting to begin, I felt that the atmosphere of the room was relaxed and non-judgmental so this put me at ease. This, and seeing so many of my friends wish me luck, made me feel like I was on top of the world. When the time came to give my speech, my mind was clear and I'm glad to say that I was able to speak without passing out or throwing up. Of course it wasn't perfect and I stuttered a little bit but I was still able to do it and the response I got from my Chicago group made me forget about all of that.

Presenting Ourselves to the School Board

After the speech came picture time. The task of getting everyone organized and where they needed to be fell onto the ever capable hands of Don. Getting about 100 people to listen and pay attention to you while you tried and get them to be where they need to be so the picture comes out perfect sounds 100 times as difficult as it does. But, as usual, Don was able to get it done.

I'm really glad that I got to practice my public speaking. Since the Chicago group went last, I was able to take in what my peers did and from that, I could figure out the direction that I wanted my speech to go and the way in which I wanted to deliver it. Granted, maybe another time I'll have to go first but I believe that this practice that I got will only make me a better speaker.

A Great Day at the School Board Meeting

I’ve been waiting for the School Board Meeting for a while.

I did the typical girl routine in the 30 or so minutes I had to get ready before heading out to De Jean: I showered, brushed my teeth, did my hair, and overturned about half my closet looking for clothes to wear.

I arrived at De Jean and found my cohort. Before the meeting started, we gathered together and were told to sit with our cohort, walk to the podium when it was our turn, and smile (I didn’t have anything else to worry about—I wasn’t a speaker). Since the Chicago cohort went last, we had the privilege of watching everyone go before us. 

I thought I would be nervous being presented to the school board members, but I was strangely calm. I was extremely happy that I was given that opportunity, and tried to convey that by smiling a lot (my face hurt afterwards). If you had asked me to stand in front of a panel of obviously important people with several intelligent people behind my back a couple months ago, I would've been terribly nervous. Already, the Ivy League Connection's changing me.

Oyin speaking during the presentation of our cohort

Two students who took part of the ILC also spoke. I forgot their names, but I remember the guy took Constitutional Law and will attend UPenn this year. I also remember the second speaker, a girl, went to Hercules and will attend Harvard.

Harvard and UPenn! I think going to schools as great as those is every present ILC member’s dream.

After all the cohorts had gone, the sponsors were asked to go up. I distinctly remember one being a fabric/sewing company. Everyone gave them a standing ovation, of course.

After that, we took a group photo. Everyone kept fixing their hair or something (yes, Don yelled). I looked at the photo Don sent us and to my surprise, of all people, my dad stands out. He has his entire body in the picture! Of all people.

I counted, what, three girls fixing their hair? Barely anyone was ready at this point.

What definitely made my week (which I’ve needed, considering the stress I’ve had due to finals):

1.) People in my old interviews remember me!

2.) I saw people I don’t usually talk to in person today (like Carson, Michelle, and Lisa)

3.) I was able to watch a school board meeting for the first time

4.) I found out my cohort’s traveling for four days before landing in Chicago! I’m excited (I heard some other cohorts would be going to the same schools, too. That’d be the best if we all went at the same time)!

I found out today that my cohort’s visiting Georgetown University and Northwestern, among others. I never knew how prestigious those universities were until now. It still amazes me how ignorant I am about colleges and universities outside California, and how the ILC took their money and time to plan this. Thank you!!!!!!

First Hellos

On May 12, I had the opportunity to meet with the students who will be attending the University of Chicago with me over the summer and I also met our chaperon, Alie. We decided to go to Mountain Mike's Pizza in San Pablo at around 5:30 PM. I got there early and I waited for everyone to show up. About five minutes later, one of the participants showed up and our chaperon was close behind. Pretty soon everybody arrived and we got the semi-awkward first hellos out the way and we eventually got settled with each other.

From talking to the others, I learned that Dani doesn't have five fish, Victoria is a music kid (like I am), Jimmy doesn't skate (although he could potentially participate in a triathlon one day), and Alexa is a gymnast. I also learned that our chaperon hasn't been living in California all of her life and she is a vegetarian but a good burger is her weakness.

I enjoyed meeting everyone for the first time and I am looking forward to what else is going to come from this experience. I'm excited to do some of the activities we planned on doing when we got to Chicago like going out to eat, going to a museum, visiting a lake or a beach, and celebrating Alie and Dani's birthdays. I'm ready for what's next in my adventure with this group of people that I just met.

How-To

 Yesterday morning, I woke up much earlier than normal for a Saturday morning so that I could attend the blog tutorial at De Anza High School. Don picked me up at 7:40 so that he could have time to set up for the tutorial. Victoria and I were both there first since we got a ride with Don. We went into the computer lab where we would be working and soon after Jimmy and Oyin arrived. We got down to business right away. Don started by telling us the basic rules to follow to have a successful experience with the ILC, and then we started working on how to blog. This included how to format, what to focus on when writing, and then we looked at good and bad examples of blog posts. Another really important part of blogging is taking photos and figuring out how to put them in your blog. Don then let us borrow some of his cameras to practice taking pictures and posting them in blogs. 

The Chicago cohort, minus Dani, hard at work

This wasn't just a tutorial on blogs though, it also felt like an introduction to the orientation. We got the finalized dates of our departure and arrival from the trip. The more I hear about the exact dates and where we will be going, the more excited I feel, because it feels more realistic with exact dates put on these events. Overall, this blog tutorial taught me so much and I feel much more prepared to go back east, and will feel even more prepared, I'm sure, after the orientation and dinner.