Counting Down The Days

There is an atmosphere of excitement, uncertainty, anticipation and nervousness in the El Cerrito High School library. In a way, the prospect of boarding a plane to attend an Ivy League college, in my case, Columbia University, in about three weeks is a bit overwhelming.

A few of the students are visibly energized by this process, but many of us are unsure that we will be able to succeed this summer. The prospect of disappointing our parents looms over us. The more we are told how great an opportunity this is for us, the heavier the weight of everyone's expectations.

We know this is a great opportunity. We don't want to let anyone down.

In our small group we had the chance to hear from and ask questions of a student who had already attended the Columbia program. She was clear about our responsibilities and what we could expect, but at the same time she was very reassuring. Also her enthusiasm from her experience was infectious. I felt this was the most valuable part of the evening: hearing the concrete nuts and bolts from the perspective of a student.

It is a challenge to me to figure out what I want to see and do in New York. There is so much to choose from. In our program we can choose from the trips the RA's are leading on the weekends and we can also try to make special requests to our chaperone, Ms. L. It would almost be easier if we were given an arbitrary limit, say, "pick only things less than 50 years old," or "pick things that start with a vowel." I'm kidding of course, but it is also a bit overwhelming. I am comforted in the knowledge that whatever I ultimately select will probably be fantastic. After all, I'll be in the Big Apple!

Looking Forward To New York City

On Thursday, the Ivy League Connection gathered in the El Cerrito High School Library for orientation. At the orientation, we sat with our cohort as we received our packing checklist and itinerary. While I listened to Mr. Ramsey, Mrs. Kronenberg, Don, and Mr. Rhea talk, my excitement increased as I looked forward to leaving for the Big Apple.

This won't be my first time travelling east. In seventh grade I was nominated to attend a People to People leadership summit in our nation’s capitol, Washington D.C. The one week I spent in D.C. visiting landmarks and museums was one of my favorite weeks yet. Not only did I get to meet students my age from around the world, but I got to listen to keynote speeches from very successful people.

While I'm in New York, I'll have the honor to work with top-notch students from around the world, tour colleges, and do sightseeing in the Big Apple. Sounds like People to People? It does. However, there are several key differences that distinguish the Ivy League Connection and make the ILC superior to People to People. Though smaller in size, the ILC allow students to reach out to college admissions officers, arrange meetings, and talk to those who may be reading our applications whereas in People to People members get to listen to an admissions officer at best.

While People to People hosts programs at prestigious universities such as Stanford and Harvard, the ILC allows us to spend three weeks at world renown institutions and study in classes taught by college professors. These differences are ultimately what is making me more and more excited as I prepare to leave for the east coast and an amazing three weeks.

Dreaming about the Big Apple

Tonight, at the Ivy League Connection’s orientation, we received an itinerary and confirmed all our travel plans. The Presidential Powers students got a great overview of the course from Yueming, who took the course last year. I was also excited to hear what I should expect (and prepare for) in New York City.

The course “American Presidential Powers At Home and Abroad: From George Washington to Barack Obama” sounds like a lot of fun. Not only is the course taught by a Columbia University political science professor, has a relatively few amount of students and is structured as a discussion based course, it also begins at 10 AM In the morning, the students will be sitting in a seminar style circle discussing past and present American presidents. We eat lunch for about 2 hours than we work at the campus library until 4 PM researching our topic for the research paper. That also means after 4 PM, we are free to explore (certain sections of ) New York – with a partner and our chaperone’s permission, of course.

I learned a lot of new things at orientation. I had no idea that the Presidential Powers students are expected to choose our (preliminary) topic for the big research paper on the first day of class. I also learned that Columbia has air conditioned dorms, which is wonderfully reassuring given the intense heat during the summer.

There is no denying that New York is one of the most exciting cities in the world. There are going to be so many activities to participate in that I highly doubt I will be able to do everything I want. I am definitely looking forward to watching a Broadway show, our college tours, Times Square and so much more. But one of the most important milestones for me is the 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' premiere that will take place on July 15 – the last day of class and our last night in the dorms. I sincerely hope that somehow we will be able to attend the midnight showing and the premier will end our ILC journey in NYC.

Tonight was the last time I met with the entire Columbia group before we arrive on Wednesday, June 22 to begin our journey and I cannot wait.

Battling Nerves

On Tuesday, I, along with other ILC students from Hercules gathered at the Hercules City Council meeting. 

While I waited to make my speech, I asked each fellow ILC student what to talk about. I was relieved to learn that my speech had similar content to my peers. However, whatever sense of relief evaporated as the time for me to make my speech drew nearer and nearer. As Mr. Ramsey, Mrs. Ishmael, and the Cornell Hotelies gave their speeches, my nerves reached a peak.

Following the final Hotelie speech, Mr. Ramsey nudged me towards the podium and I took a deep breath and told myself I can do it. The beginning of the speech went well, but as I talked, I totally forgot everything I had prepared. As my nerves began to mount once again, I reminded myself to slow down, and low and behold I remembered some of my speech. Towards the end of my speech I decided to speak spontaneously, and finish strong.

After I concluded my speech, I felt like I had just cleared a hurdle, and conquered a task which I am not comfortable with. The irony is that I think that the ending of my speech, the part where I spoke spontaneously, was more beneficial than the parts that I prepared. The City Council meeting has made me feel more confident with public speaking, a key life skill.

I also appreciated listening to the eloquent speeches given by fellow ILC students because I got a front row seat to the best speakers at my school: Hercules High. I got to pick up on what each person did well in, which I hope to use to improve my public speaking.

The ILC and the Hercules City Council

The presentation to the City Council is, in my opinion, one of the most daunting milestones one must pass as a member of the Ivy League Connection. And though I was a bundle of nerves, I thought the presentation went very well. 

The ILC students eloquently explained what the ILC means to them and what they are looking forward to. 

We were preceded by Mr. Ramsey and HHS Assistant Principal Mrs. Ishmael who introduced the program and the Hercules students. 

It was also great to hear Yueming describe her journey with the ILC and how it ultimately led her to Cornell. 

The City Council members were very gracious and congratulated each of us ILC students. 

The group photo was the final event of the evening and I look forward to seeing it posted in the Hercules Middle/High School office near those from previous years.

The Hercules City Council Hosts the ILC

The evening was a beautiful climax to a typical Spring day here in West County.  The Hercules City Council opened their meeting as they have so many times in the past by welcoming the Hercules residents who are cohorts of the Ivy League Connection.

After the warm welcome from Mayor Joanne Ward, West Contra Costa Unified School Distirct School Board President Charles Ramsey explained to the gathered crowd--and those watching on TV from the comfort of their homes--about the history of the program and how the program positively affects so many of the young people from our community.

Following Mr. Ramsey, Hercules High Assistant Principal Terri Ishmael spoke on the application process and how these cohorts went from the "what's this all about" stage to the "what time does our first class start" stage.  Ms. Ishmael introduced the cohorts and invited each of them to step to the microphone to talk about their own involvement in the ILC.

Concluding the presentation, and before the traditional group photo, former ILC cohort and Hercules resident (and the big sister of current Columbia Constitutional Law cohort Eric Wang) spoke about how her own participation as a two time ILCer affected her.  Yueming Wang was a Hotelie at Cornell two years ago and last summer she attended the Presidential Powers course at Columbia University.

Yueming eloquently spoke of how she was a dyed in the wool Cal Bear fan until she saw what else was available to her.  After attending Cornell and Columbia her views towards Cal were altered-altered to the point where she will be studying engineering at Cornell starting this Fall.

What was clear this evening, as it has been since the beginning, the ILC saw once again that the Hercules community stands firmly behind their young students and if the ILC will help their young members of the community, then the Hercules community stands behind the ILC.