Blogging: Until the Last One Standing

The second half of the ILC gathered for a blogging tutorial session led by Don Gosney Saturday morning at the Hercules Public Library.

I made sure to wake up and leave the house in a timely manner in order to assist Don with setting up the conference room for the tutorial. As I sat in the car next to my mother, cruising along to the library, I admit I was a bit nervous-- although this was going to be one of the more relaxed events, in contrast to the upcoming dinners and School Board Meeting, I was anxious to meet the other members of the ILC from the other high schools for the first time. Despite my excitement, I reminded myself to stay composed-- this certainly was not going to be the last time I would be meeting new and important people during my participation in this program-- I must learn to become more comfortable with it.

And so, after relaxing my nerves (which, unfortunately, will undoubtedly tense again and again as more events approach), we arrived at our destined meeting place. 


I recognized Don standing with a young man in front of the library. A timid person by nature, I hesitated approaching Don and the stranger, but finally I worked up the nerve to walk up to the two to greet Don and introduce myself to Tom Miller, whom I learned will be travelling to Yale this summer for the Grand Strategies course.

We spoke about our respective programs for a bit as we awaited the opening of the library. When it finally did, the three of us made our way inside to the conference room reserved for our session. As we arranged and turned tables and chairs around to face the front of the room, more students, along with their chaperones, began piling in. Soon, we were all ready to set to work with our laptops on and our eyes fixed on Don.

As a first time blogger, I learned a lot about how to write exceptional blogs from Don; information and tips about taking and uploading pictures were covered, suggestions for blog content were offered, and so much more useful material that will aid me in this process of reflective writing.

I truly am looking forward to documenting my experience as part of the ILC with this blog. We will be blogging regularly from now until the end of our trip. Hopefully, I will be able to apply the skills I learned at the tutorial well so that I may offer greater insight into my thoughts, feelings, and things I will encounter throughout my journey to Vanderbilt and back.

Opening My Eyes; LaVonya DeJean School Board Meeting

After a busy week/weekend filled with studying, AP testing, SATs, 90 pages of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, and celebrating Mother’s Day, I am glad to say that the end of this jam-packed Junior year is near. 

Despite this hectic time, I was excited to attend the ILC School Board Meeting at LaVonya DeJean. I had only been to a school board meeting once before, when I was much younger, regarding school-closures. But this time, I wasn’t going to the meeting to sit in the audience; this time, I was the one on the agenda.

We were being presented to the School Board. All current ILC members from every school and program were there. Our chaperones were showing us to the School Board to recognize all of our hard work, dedication, and perseverance, and describe the schools we will be visiting and the program we will be participating in.

What I enjoyed most about the meeting was hearing ILC alumni speak about their experiences and studies during the program. We got to hear their take on the workload, the environment, the program, and what school they are attending this upcoming year. Though they probably don’t know it, their speeches had a grand effect on me. Their speeches made me want to leave for Vanderbilt that very moment. Their speeches pushed me farther and farther away from my nervousness about leaving California, to attend a college thousands of miles away. And from their speeches, I realized that all of these students in the ILC applied to an Ivy League College, and it seems like most, if not all, will actually be going to school at one. And it wasn’t until that moment that it actually hit me; I could be a student at an Ivy League School. Who would of ever thought that I would have this big of a chance of getting into such prestigious and highly selective schools?

After presenting the new ILC participants, the sponsors of the program were awarded certificates of appreciation. It was nice to see the faces of those who are helping us reach our greatest potential.

Once again, I would like to thank all of those who help make the ILC possible. Each one of these events I attend opens my eyes more and more to the great possibilities in store for me. I can’t wait for the Vanderbilt dinner next week!

Just a Teaser

The 2011 Ivy League Connection cohorts, their chaperones and parents gather for a group photo after being presented to the West Contra Costa Unified School District on May 4th.

Stay tuned for more photos.

School Board Meeting: An Introduction

This evening, I, along with my fellow ILC cohorts, attended the WCCUSD School Board meeting at LoVonya Dejean Middle School in Richmond to be formally presented to the Board.

The visit to Richmond was a reminiscent one - I had lived in the city and attended school there at Grant Elementary until the third grade. I truly enjoyed the education I received there; at Grant, I had the opportunity to explore and engage in such a diverse area of subjects besides the usual English-Language Arts and Mathematics, such as music, singing, dancing, and performing arts. Only when I transferred to Elizabeth Stewart School in Pinole did I realize how fortunate I was to grow up at a school that so strongly supported student creativity.

When the meeting commenced, each individual group stood before the School Board as their chaperone introduced them and expressed their thanks and hopes for the trip. It was such an honor to watch as each bright, young individual rose up and stood before the Board, and as I did so, I truly was beholding the leaders of our future.

In addition to this year's ILC students being introduced to the School Board, a few students from last year's group who applied and were accepted to Ivy League schools were also presented at the meeting; the backbone of their great achievement, of course, being the ILC. Listening to the speeches from these students, such as Austin Long and Guadalupe Morales, was truly inspiring for me. The impossible dream of going to college at an Ivy League University suddenly seemed just an arm's reach away. I watched with awe as they spoke of their experiences and their inspiration to attend such prestigious schools, and I found myself thinking that one day, that would be me standing there before the School Board, telling them of my decision to attend an Ivy League college for the next four years of my life.

It never occurred to me that perhaps I could, with a bit of work and perspiration, study at such eminent colleges, but here was living proof right in front of me - proof that with the drive to succeed and determination, you really can reach your goals, and possibly even more than you ever believed possible.

On my way home after the meeting, I thought long and hard about the possibilities. They were endless.

The world, I realized, is so much bigger than Pinole, so much bigger than the Bay Area, so much bigger than California. Of course I always knew that there are so many more opportunities out there, such as Ivy League schools, but until tonight, I had never considered them at all, let alone that they are feasible. Any college or university that was out-of-state was always a no-go, but now, I think perhaps it has the possibility of simply becoming a "go".

An Informative Blog Tutorial at Hercules

Today, a few ILC members met up at the Hercules library for Don’s blog tutorial. It was nice to see a few new faces of some of the students that are part of the program this year, and learn which schools and programs they will be attending this summer.

I made sure I arrived to the library early; I definitely did not want to see an angry side of Don if I walked into that meeting late. After getting a bit lost inside the library trying to find where we were meeting, I found the conference room, and helped set up.The blog tutorial was very informative. Learning the “do's and don’t's” of how and what to post on our blogs will help us refine our skills. Don knows quite a lot about blogging, photos, and writing, and it was helpful for him to show us all a few tips and tricks. Not only was this meeting about the blogs, but also an informative meeting about emails, attire, packing, speaking, etc.

One piece of information that I found interesting, came from a chaperone that attended the meeting. She informed us that some college admission officers might look us up online and find our blogs in the future. This means that what we write in these blogs can have a positive, or even a negative, effect on us, when applying for college. These blogs are very important to all of us ILC members, ILC coordinators, ILC contributors, and many more.

I am very appreciative of this tutorial.

Our Vanderbilt Cohort