Today,
May 21, we are one step closer to being true Cornellians.
After
school, I rushed back home to get ready for the Cornell Dinner at Prospect in
San Francisco with my mom. I arrived at the El Cerrito Plaza Bart Station, and
to my surprise given that my track record for tardiness is substantially high,
I was the first of the ILCers to get there. I was quickly greeted by the always
lovely Don Gosney and Mrs. Kronenberg who were both posted by the entryway like
guards of the Buckingham Palace. When the rest of the group was all accounted
for, we took the BART to Embarcadero Station and walked to the restaurant.
Prospect
was a hidden gem tucked in the outskirts of the Business District of San
Francisco. We got a private room in the back of the restaurant and we started
to mingle with some of the alums from Cornell. There was such a great variety
of people from all over the US who have attended Cornell and were eager to
share their experiences. Before dinner was served, we heard wonderful speeches
from two of our cohorts: Rachael from Hercules and Eric from El Cerrito. To kick
it up a notch, Mr. Ramsey gave this mind-blowing speech worthy of an Oscar
Nomination.
At our
dinner tables, I was sitting with alums Doug and Rachel, along with our Cornell
chaperone Alfredo and three other members of the school district. I spent most
of the time talking with Doug and absorbing the information he had about
Cornell. It seemed that with each sentence he spoke, Cornell seemed to get
progressively prettier and prettier. I was literally put into a virtual reality
of Cornell by the descriptions given by Doug. One of the aspects that stuck out
the most to me was when Doug told me that Cornell is a school that is big
enough for a wide range of diversity, yet small enough that you will frequently
bump into friends.
Now let's
talk about the food! It was amazing! Everything, from the appetizer to the
dessert, would've put Gordon Ramsey's cooking to shame. The service was
excellent; they seemed to know exactly when we were running out of alcohol (or
water in my case). The atmosphere of the restaurant combined with the
conversations with my table-mates made it an unforgettable night.
Thank you Mr. Don Gosney, Mr.
Charles Ramsey, Mrs. Madeline Kronenberg, and all the people affiliated with
the ILC for giving me this amazing opportunity. I would also like to give a
huge thanks to Doug and Rachel for sharing their experiences with us. I am
looking forward to attend Cornell this summer more than ever.
Calvin,
ReplyDeleteI'm 100% in agreement with you about the food and the service. As soon as I got home last night I emailed Prospect telling them how great both were.
I don't know what you had for your entree but my pork chop was far better than I've ever been able to prepare my own chops on my Weber barbecue.
There were seven of you ILCers and we had 17 alums scheduled to join you. You were lucky enough to dine with Doug and his wife Rachel who are two of the most ardent advocates for Cornell. He was a huge hit at our dinner last year and from what you've written he seems to be right on par.