One Step Closer

This evening we went to the Orientation Meeting at Pinole Middle School where Don and Mr. Ramsey explained key information, and shared anecdotes about the ILC and each of the programs.

This is Pinole Middle, where we attended Orientation.
Our Orientation room was directly to the right.

An important point that they both put heavy emphasis on was tardiness (at Yale you can get expelled from the program for being late!). Although Don had sent out an email explicitly requesting that people arrive on time, we still had a few people who arrived late. While I agree with both Don and Mr. Ramsey that tardiness should--at all costs--be avoided, I felt really empathetic to the late-comers, as I have experienced the anxiety that comes with striving to meet all expectations. I also felt a bit uncomfortable, in that the lecture with respect to being on time was given to those of us who actually were.

Once the meeting got going, it was really exciting to think about actually packing, and hearing about the different places we are going to go. I'm so excited to start packing and making a list of everything I need, because it reminds me how much closer we are to actually arriving at Brown!

After Don and Mr. Ramsey spoke about the logistical things, we broke out into our cohort groups to discuss plans more centralized to the specific programs we are attending. Our chaperone, Tiffani, gave us a brief itinerary about the college tours that we will attend. The colleges that we are going to visit are: Wesley, Brandeis, Yale, and Boston University. I have never been on a college tour before, and as a junior in high school, there couldn't be a better time for me to have the opportunity of getting to visit several top tier universities--for free!

I'm really excited to go to Brown this summer, and with each and every meeting we have, no matter how long and intensive they may be, we are one step closer to stepping foot on that campus this summer.