Officially Official

That feeling of excitement and nervousness of the approaching trip to Brown University only fully hit me when, at the end of the orientation, Mr. Ramsey said, “Congratulations, you are now officially part of the Ivy League Connection!” The trip to Rhode Island no longer seemed like a story I’d read on the blogs of a past Brownie and I could now completely imagine myself in the Women and Leadership class. But I guess I’m getting ahead of myself. First, I should talk about the orientation.

Pinole Middle School

Our official Ivy League Connection Orientation was held at Pinole Middle School this evening at 6:00 PM (although it was not without its delays). Approximately 100 parents and students gathered in the Multi-Purpose Room, awaiting further instructions and guidelines from Don Gosney and Mr. Ramsey. The first point mentioned by Don and Mr. Ramsey was one we were familiar with: the importance of being on time. I’ve come to realize that, starting with this program, I will be treated as an adult and, in order to earn the respect of other people, I have to be punctual.

Once we had split into our separate cohort groups, our chaperone, Tiffani Neal, was able to give us specifics about our trip. As someone who enjoys planning, I was happy to hear details about our schedule. While we are on the East Coast, we will be visiting four colleges before we begin our actual course at Brown: Wellesley College, Brandeis University, Boston University, and Yale University. I was thrilled to find out that, not only will we get to tour these schools, but we will also have the opportunity to sit down with admissions officers and counselors. It’s great to be able to get a head start on getting to know the admissions officers and counselors of top colleges.

It turns out that we will not be rooming with other cohorts from our ILC group, but rather be put randomly into rooms with other students enrolled in the “Summer at Brown” program. Although it would be nice to room with someone I know, I’m excited to be able to meet new people from all around the world and find out how people in other areas live. It will be interesting to be in a classroom with students who come from different backgrounds and cultures who have a variety of unique ideas and opinions.

There are so many new opportunities in the Ivy League Connection program that I am becoming aware of that only make me more excited for what is to come. In approximately two months, I will be embarking on a life-changing trip to Rhode Island with my fellow Women and Leadership cohorts! At the risk of sounding repetitive, I will end by emphasizing how thankful I am to the district and to the Ivy League Connection for putting our district (WCCUSD) on the map for top colleges and helping groups of high school students discover their full potential.