Time To Fly

With less than 12 hours to go, I'm making sure I have everything ready to go before driving off to El Cerrito High School, where everyone will rendezvous before the flight to Pennsylvania. As I finish packing my bag, however, I can't help but think of the adventures my cohorts and I are about to experience. It seems like only a week ago that Don first came to our school explaining all about the ILC. Although my sister already insisted that I should head out to the East just like her, Don helped persuade me on why I should participate in this program.  The thought of heading out with students and not with parents seemed too good to pass. This experience would be like a preview on how actual college life would feel like.

I have been waiting for so long to go to the East. But now that it is less than a day away, I'm more anxious than anything. Maybe it's because I never went so far away from home with fellow cohorts, or maybe it's the anticipation for this trip has been too long. I've waited and waited, but now, it's suddenly in hand's reach. Well, either way, I'm still very excited to be part of this program representing this school district.

Since the beginning of summer break, I've been wondering what it would be like in New York and Pennsylvania. Of course, when I'm actually at my destination, everything will be so much different than what my imaginations are like. Since all my past presumptions of nearly everything never comes true (just like how I assumed what the Cornell dinner would be like), I've learned to expect the unexpected. Still, I can't help but try to wonder about the trip that all the past ILC alumni say is wonderful.

After publishing this blog, double checking my bag, and finishing the book assignment, Cornell would just be a fly away. That is, a five hour flight. Also, not to mention it would be very early in the morning. Waking up at 2 AM would never feel so good!

I've Got a Date with Cornell

As I pick out my outfit for tomorrow, paint my nails for the final time, and touch up the last of my packing essentials, I become excited for my date with Cornell; and for this event, I definitely won't be stood up. Of course, I am also nervous - I have never been away so long, and now I am under pressure from Don to become a temporary insomniac during my 3:40 AM trip to the airport, and 5-hour flight, as well as trying to keep my suitcase under his personal weight requirement of 42 pounds. However, these are small issues compared to the great adventure that awaits me; tomorrow evening, I will be in Philadelphia enjoying dinner with the rest of my cohort.

I am excited to see the other campuses (UPenn, Columbia, and Princeton), but since they do not seem to have a nutrition science major for undergraduates, I am really most excited to see Cornell (which has an excellent program in two different colleges - Agriculture and Human Ecology). There's also the excitement of being a tourist. I've never been to Philadelphia, so hopefully we will get to see as many points of interest as possible. My list of what to get is ever-growing, thanks to my brother (unfortunately, Max, you get one thing only), so souvenir shopping is definitely a must.

Although it will be fun to have my own hotel room for the first week before Cornell, I am looking forward to meeting my roommate in the dormitory. Dorm life will be another new experience, though not completely unfamiliar, thanks to many years of YMCA summer camps (living with one girl in a cramped room will hopefully be easier than living with ten girls in a cabin that's not much bigger). I will be sure to take many pictures, too, so that everyone (the wonderful sponsors of the Ivy League Connection, especially) can experience this trip with me - day by day, just as the doctor ordered.

Now it's time for the final step of any lengthy trip - spending time with the people I won't see for a month; because although the break from my family will be nice, in the end, they are the people who really got me here.

Off To The Races

Well, junior year is over and I couldn't be happier. After endless nights of studying for SATs, SAT Subject Tests, ACTs, and AP tests, it feels wonderful to have them all behind me now (until I get my results back...). My mother always told me that junior year would be the most crucial year of my high school career, and boy, was she ever correct. Night after night I would stress out about my grades and sort through every possibility to get my grades up. In the end, I managed to get straight A's (I think...*knock on wood*). Overall, I would not trade my junior year for anything else because it has taught me valuable academic skills as well as showed me my mental and physical capabilities.

Now that school seems to have ended about a month ago, I could not be more excited to go to the East Coast! I have finally finished packing and quadruple-checked my packing list and thanks to Don, who brought my loaner items to me yesterday, I am sure I have everything I need.

This whole week I have been looking forward to this trip. Every day, I read and reread all the handouts and itineraries concerning Cornell and the other colleges we'll be visiting (Princeton, UPenn, and Columbia) during our one week stay in Philadelphia. I hope to absorb as much information as possible during these campus visits and dinners with the admission staff of each college.

As the time approaches, concerns fill my head: will I wake up in time? What if I forget something? What if my shampoo explodes in my luggage? I have set my alarm for 1:45 AM just to make sure that I cannot possibly be late (since Don foiled my plan for not sleeping tonight). However, I pretty sure I will be too anxious to sleep anyways.

I will be totally honest with you, throughout all my travels on planes, I have enjoyed the plane ride more than the actual trip itself 9 times out of 10 (mainly because I want to work in aerospace/aeronautic engineering or become a pilot), but I 100% positive this trip will be that one where the trip itself will surpass any of the flights I may go on in the future. And who knows, maybe my initial career goal will change once visiting the other colleges and taking Freedom & Justice at Cornell. The possibilities are endless.

This is it, in 15 hours we'll all be at El Cerrito High School ready to embark on this amazing trip. I cannot thank Don Gosney, Mr. Ramsey, Mrs. Kronenberg, and all the supporters of the ILC enough times for giving me this opportunity. I don't think I have ever been this excited to go to school in my life. East Coast watch out, because this WCCUSD entourage is going to blow your mind!   

Philadelphia Bound!

In 18 hours I’ll be meeting my cohort at El Cerrito High to soon board a plane to Philadelphia!  Since the end of school last Friday I have been anticipating this moment; reminiscing on all the preparation that was required to get to this day.  All the memorable events, between the rigorous application process, luxurious dinner, and orientation (all while dealing with the demands of junior year) have been stepping-stones to tomorrow’s departure. 

Yesterday I finished the remainder of my shopping and will spend the day checking, double-checking, and then triple-checking my packed belongings as to be 100% sure I have everything.  A friend of mine and current participant of the ILC made the greatest suggestion of creating a Excel spreadsheet listing each item I will be packing and where (main, carry-on, pocket) it is located, something I found to be extremely useful, just to have a checklist while traveling and to insure I do not forget anything while moving from place-to-place. 

My largest current concern: waking up on time.  Today I woke up at 7:30, early for summer standards but still a mediocre attempt for “practicing” for tomorrow, but I have my alarm placed strategically on the other side of my bedroom notched on the highest volume and coffee already set-aside in the kitchen to insure a smooth early-morning transition (yeah right…).

Philadelphia will be our first stop, where we will establish a home base while visiting UPenn, Princeton, and Columbia.  Being one who generally needs a lot of sleep, the fast-paced long days, in addition to the 3-hour time difference, will be a challenge at first.  I have never explored the city and really don’t know what to expect but I am thrilled nonetheless to see the sights of a metropolis with such a rich history.

As for Cornell I really do not know what to expect aside from the input of past ILCers, alumni, and ILC administration.  Though reading Princeton Readings in Political Thought may sound intimidating, it has given me greater insight to what the class is about and what I can expect to learn.  Though some sections may be incomprehensible to say the least, part of the experience will be to understand and analyze these philosophies.   

I thought the stress was supposed to end with the conclusion of the school year, but it was only the beginning.  Nevertheless, I cannot express in words my excitement without posting some sort of elated facial expression, but I don’t know if the inclusion of such a picture would be appropriate for the blog.  The sad part is this is most likely the final blog I will write from the comfort of my own home until the end of the trip, but I am so ready for the journey to begin all the same.  During the school year I promised myself that I would have a productive summer, and I think the opportunities that lay in this trip go up and beyond those standards that I had in mind.  

Moving up

I now realize how quickly we are getting to boarding a plane and going to the other side of the country. It all felt surreal, but Thursday night's ILC Orientation has really got me ever so excited for this summer.

During the opening speeches, Mr. Ramsey was stressing the importance of punctuality and how time is everything, especially when we are traveling. Then Mrs. Kronenburg talked about the importance of being ambassadors of our school district. She made us all think deeper in why we are actually doing this program, not only to benefit ourselves, but to represent the ILC, the school district, and the 25,000 students that couldn't be in this program. This motivated me to strive for the best and to earn the right to say that I am an ILCer.

We then broke into our cohorts to talk about the logistics of the trip; everything from what to bring to dinners with admission officers. The most helpful part during this workshop was when ILC alums Yueming Wang and Terilyn Chen spoke about their experiences during their time at Cornell. They were extremely helpful in addressing our living conditions and possible extra-curricular activities. Unfortunately, they were both in the Hotel Management class, so they couldn't tell me, Alex, and Eric much in terms of what to expect in our Freedon & Justice class. I thought it was very helpful when Yueming told us to carry an umbrella everywhere because it can start raining at anytime, which I found very peculiar considering Bay Area summers are very predictable. One aspect of the program at Cornell that Yueming and Terilyn reiterated was that we are getting college credit for this, so they gave us the tip of "work hard, but have fun and soak up the college experience."

The ILC Orientation was extremely informative and fun. I learned a vast amount of information in the 2 hour time period and it is still sinking in. Thank you ILC for giving me this opportunity and Yueming and Terilyn for sharing your words of wisdom with us. 17 more days and it's off to Ithaca!

Countdown: 17 Days To Go

Thursday night marked the final event for the Ivy League Connection before the ILCers fly off to the East Coast. I arrived at the orientation in Pinole Middle School at around 6:25 PM, a few minutes before we started.

As I entered the Multi Purpose Room, I found my cohorts along with Mr. Chan-Law. I sat down, as papers were being passed around. I saw a lot of people bringing notes, and I got scared for a second that we had to take notes in the orientation. Good thing it wasn't mandatory because I would have seemed unprepared. Everyone faced toward the podium, and in a few minutes passed 6:30 PM, with the final students arriving, the orientation finally started.

Don started off by stating all the important things we must do, like emphasizing the need to be punctual for everything because no one waits for late students.. Then Mr. Ramsey introduced all the chaperons, followed by Mrs. Kronenberg talking about the difference between this program and other scholarships. Unlike scholarships, which gives you money to spend, the ILC makes everyone work for their money, like a job. With another quick briefing on borrowing items from Don, each program formed their own groups.

Mr. Chan-Law started handing paper that described the layout of our trip, and talking about where we were going. Then, previous ILC alumni, Teriyln Chen and Yueming Wang shared their experiences with us. They said that the Hotel Management Course was really hard, but they were still able to have a great time, as they were able to see museums and the Cornell campus on the weekends. All these discussions about how we're going to spend our time there makes me even more thrilled to be in this program.

Almost There

Today was the final step before the Cornell cohort gathers at El Cerrito High School with our suitcases ready to embark on a journey to remember. The annual ILC orientation was held at Pinole Valley High School.

The night began with Mr. Ramsey and Don speaking about the importance of punctuality and Mrs. Kronenberg followed up be who made it crystal clear that we earn the right to be in the ILC every day we're in the program and that being in the ILC is a job - not a prize. Finally, before we broke up into our cohorts, Don had a smaller version of his bazaar on display and explained that we're all allowed to borrow whatever we need but we have to return everything to Don.

We then broke into our cohorts and Mr. Chan-Law present each of us with our itinerary which looked pretty daunting because it was about 15 pages front and back worth of travel information. Mr. Chan-Law broke it down for us and told us about what we were going to do during our first week of college tours and said that he would try to work around our busy schedules during our program so that he could take us on some trips to see some interesting things around Cornell.

Finally, ILC alums Yueming Wang and Terilyn Chen spoke about their experiences at Cornell. While they assured us that we will be challenged academically, they also told us to go out and make friends and to not be afraid to ask for help. They also spoke about how enjoyable their experiences were and it just made me eve more excited to head off to Cornell.

One Step Closer....

I am REALLY excited now that I realize that within a few weeks, I will be off to Philadelphia to tour my first East Coast college, and will be even closer to Cornell. Of course, first I had to complete the orientation tonight.

It ran through much faster than I expected though; when Don e-mailed everyone saying to prepare for up to two and a half hours of information, I was not sure what to expect, except possible boredom. Fortunately, the two hours only seemed like one as Don, Mr. Ramsey, and Ms. Kronenberg quickly and efficiently ran through their part of the agenda. The only things that they lingered on were being on time (I feel a little bad for Molly, who was apparently the last one to arrive; Don spent about ten minutes altogether discussing punctuality because of that) and returning things to Don and the district (also a cumulative ten-minute lecture). Otherwise, the meeting lacked the repetitiveness I anticipated, and we soon split into our respective college groups.

As Mr. Chan-Law passed out our itinerary - which could have been mistaken for a small book - I became a little daunted. Would we really be doing so many events each day? I knew, though, that this program would keep me busy, so I internally sighed and accepted that eight hours of sleep each night may not be possible; but it would definitely be worth it. We discussed in detail our planned excursions to the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University in New York, and Princeton University in New Jersey, with our base in Philadelphia for those first five days before migrating finally to Ithaca. Although we did not say exactly what places we would visit within each respective city, Mr. Chan-Law has already sent out e-mails telling us that we will fit in as much as possible. It seems like twenty-four-hour days won't be enough! Although the cramped schedule seems large and nearly impossible to complete, it's also exciting to think of all the things I will be able to see and do in just one week. Furthermore, Mr. Chan-Law promised that as long as our work load is not too heavy, we will be able to take weekend trips around Ithaca and maybe even outside of the city. I know the course will be rigorous, so this will motivate me to finish most of my homework on Friday instead of procrastinating! After all, this may be the only chance I will get to see all of these places before going off to attend college for an actual degree.

During our group sessions, former participants Terilyn and Yueming gave us advice on what to expect on campus and in Ithaca, and a few tips on what to bring (like flip-flops to wear in the shared showers). Our group ended up being the last group to finish up; we had to be called to attention when Don and Mr. Ramsey were ready to continue their presentation on what to bring, when to arrive at the departure location, etc. I think everyone is excited to go on this new adventure, and as Mr. Ramsey pointed out, "we made it!" I glanced at my fellow cohorts, and I realized that I was excited not only to tour the East Coast, but to share the experience with these fellow adventurers.

Next Stop: Ithaca!

Tonight was the Ivy League Connection orientation.  This is the final step before our departure to Cornell this summer, and we spent the evening reviewing our responsibilities as members of the ILC.  Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Kronenberg, and Don opened with our duties we have as representatives of our district and later introduced all of the chaperones for the different groups.   

For the next part of the program we split up into our travel groups.  It was nice to see them all, especially the Hotel and Management crowd, as this is most likely the last time we will meet as a group before moving off to the East Coast.  We were lucky enough to hear from two former students as well who shared their experiences in the Hotel and Management program at Cornell.  They described the mix of fun and hard work that arrives with this opportunity and were able to share all of their positive experiences while in Ithaca.  Similar to the dinner at Prospect, it was interesting to hear former students’ experience at Cornell, but this time we were told specifically about the Summer College programs.

Next, our chaperone Alfredo reviewed our itinerary while on the East Coast.  Learning about our college visits at UPenn, Columbia, and Princeton and the prestigious dinners with admission officers and alumni that were to follow each day made me extremely excited.  In addition, we will have time to explore the city of Philadelphia with our cohort, a pleasant break before our studies. 

This event was the final stepping-stone before our departure.  Now the training wheels are off.  The next time I will be seeing Don, Alfredo, and the Hercules group will be at 3:30 in the morning the day of our flight.  The trip will soon be in motion, and I am very grateful and excited to be presented with such an amazing opportunity.  

The End of the Beginning

That was it, our last step before meeting at ECHS (at 3:30AM for the Cornell Cohort) to depart for the East Coast. The ILC Orientation was probably the most useful and meaningful meeting to me so far within the ILC. I truly feel like all my questions have been answered and my needs have been met.

Packets, Notes, and Documents

The meeting began with comments from Mr. Ramsey, Don, and Mrs. Kronenburg regarding the importance of being on time, and how tardiness was being considered for the 8th deadly sin within the ILC. After the meeting truly began, the three leaders each gave speeches on various elements of the ILC, from Loaner Items to Admission Officers Meetings. Mrs. Kronenburg's speech addressing how the program was not a scholarship, but more of a job really got to me. Thinking of everything I do as earning my scholarship really adds meaning for me, and makes me appreciate the program more. After these speeches and being reintroduced to our chaperons, we split into our cohorts and met separately. We discussed our travel specifics and were able to talk with previous ILC Cornellians about the campus and trip in general. Our chaperon Alfredo seems really enthusiastic and fun, and I look forward to travelling with him. The meeting ended on a good note from Mr. Ramsey congratulating all of us on making it to the final step of the ILC introductory process.

Now here we are, 18 days until we leave, just under 3 weeks. I am ready. I am prepared. Most of all, I am excited. Thank you to the Ivy League Connection for this amazing opportunity!