Step One of ILC Complete

The first major event of the Ivy League Connection has finally come on a breezy afternoon. Mostly everyone arrived by 6:30 PM at El Cerrito Plaza, getting ready for the big dinner at the restaurant Prospect. I stood in front of the BART entrance, converged with all the Cornell cohorts and chaperones, for the first time ever. We all exchanged greetings and set forth to the BART to San Francisco, where our destination awaited us.

Once we got off the 20 minute ride, we were one step closer to our dinner. Personally, I was quite nervous because I didn't know how the Cornell alumni who were waiting for us were going to be like. For some reason, I thought they would be somewhat old, with a stern face. Don't ask me why, but that's what I imagined in my head as we walked. When we arrived at the fancy Prospect, we were led up to a raised, secluded room, where we finally saw the alumni. They were different from what I thought they would look like, with all of them having smiles on their faces. There were some older graduates, as well as some that have graduated just a few years ago. After conversing for a while, we sat in our assigned seats.

When everyone was seated, Mrs. Kronenberg started the dinner with her speech. She encouraged everyone to stand up and introduce themselves one at a time. As the introductions passed, Rachael Redlo, from Hercules High, and Eric Wilson, from El Cerrito High, rose and gave superb speeches about what the program meant to them. Good thing it was they that got chosen to speak, because if it were me, I would be stuttering the whole time.

Afterwords, I got to talk to the alumni and eat. I sat next to two very nice people named Catrina and Samantha. They were both from the East and it was very fun talking about what it was like there. Everything they said about Cornell, like the Dairy Bar and the fun times they had, made me want to go even more now. It was very hard to talk to the others around me though, since the people around Mr. Ramsey were interested in mostly politics, which I found, of course, interesting, but also difficult to follow. The food we ate was great too. The dessert was probably my favorite, since I love to eat anything that tastes like strawberries.

What a great day it has been! It took a long time, but I'm not complaining. The service was excellent and the servers were very kind to us. The food was fantastic, and the people there were even better. Everyone was so welcoming to us students that it was like we were friends before this meeting. This was a great way to start out the Ivy League Connection, and I can't wait for summer to start!