The Yale dinner at One Market Restaurant was inspirational, entertaining, and of course, delicious, and I feel so honored to have been a part of it. I was engaged in stimulating conversation throughout the whole night, from departing from El Cerrito Plaza to eating at One Market to returning back from the city. From these varied conversations--which ranged from everything Yale (of course) to applying to college to "girl-talk"--I gained many important insights, such as when you are faced with something negative, you have the power to turn it into a positive. I also learned many things from hearing all of invigorating speakers. I especially liked Mr. Ramsey's quote from Hillary Clinton.
What was also amazing about the dinner was having the pleasure to be seated next to Yale 2005 alum, Matt. He was very amiable and he answered my plethora of questions about Yale and things besides Yale. He truly contributed to my excitement for my two weeks in New Haven and my drive to succeed in general.
Another person whom I learned a lot from was Lauren Croda. Although she is only one year ahead of me, she knows an immeasurable amount more than I do about the college application process, and I'm glad she shared lots of it with me. She will definitely go places even after graduating from Yale.
Overall, the Yale dinner increased my hunger for being worthy of attending my Yale Ivy Scholars program. In the process, I had the opportunity of talking to many wonderful people and bonding more with Stephanie and Jessica. Thank you Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Kronenberg, Mr. Gosney, and supporters of the ILC for making it possible and thank you everyone else who attended it for making it a memorable night.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Truly an ILC week
These past few days have been filled with Ivy League Connection events. And that has definitely been a positive thing.
On Monday, I attended the Exploring College Options information night at Berkeley along with many other students from PV and across the rest of WCCUSD. I have been to college information sessions previously, but that didn't prevent me from absorbing loads of knowledge from that session. I took notes and learned many things such as what one should do when visiting a college campus and the difference between early action and early decision. More importantly, I gained a personal feel of each of the five colleges represented there, Rice, Cornell, University of Chicago, Brown, and Columbia. Besides imparting on to me intriguing trivia, for example, the guy who is responsible for Gollum's character in the LOTR movies teaches at Cornell, this session made me realize that I must discern what qualities I want in my future college. This reflection will assist me when I meet with Ms. Kim this coming Sunday, and of course, in the fall when I'm applying to college. On a further note, University of Chicago and Columbia appealed strongly to me.
On Tuesday, I went to the Pinole City Council Meeting to be recognized as a participant of the ILC from Pinole. Unfortunately, I was not conscientious of the time, and thus I arrived to the meeting late. This was an awful blunder, but it taught me a harsh lesson regarding punctuality which will definitely stick with me. It also made me realize that I must not take things for granted, most especially a priceless opportunity such as studying in Yale on behalf of the ILC. Besides that, I, along with the four other Pinoleans (go Spartans!) was awarded a certificate of recognition from the Pinole City Council. I expressed a few words of gratitude, but I wish I had had a better delivery. However, I know I will strengthen my speaking skills even further this summer at Ivy Scholars.
Wednesday was the culmination of this week's ILC "festivities". It was the school board meeting at LaVonya DeJean Middle School in which us thirty ILC students were formally recognized by the school board. It was incredible. Here, we symbolicly received certificates congratulating us on our acceptance to prestigious summer programs. However, we students simultaneously received something more. We were endowed with the knowledge of being aware of what we all are truly a part of by being a part of the ILC. Our parents' presence showed that we are part of something they can be proud of. Our teachers' presence showed that our achievements are built upon the efforts of others. Our sponsors' presence showed that the ILC is a positive program that must exist no matter the costs. Mr. Gosney's presence showed that it was a big deal (not to mention the gigantic group photo!). The ILC alumni's presence showed the effictiveness of the program in making WCCUSD students prestigious university material, but despite that, people whom still continue to care about their community back home. Our presence showed the beginning of a summer of enlightenment.
Once again, thank you Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Kronenberg, Mr. Gosney, and everyone else who makes things, such as this past week, possible!
On Monday, I attended the Exploring College Options information night at Berkeley along with many other students from PV and across the rest of WCCUSD. I have been to college information sessions previously, but that didn't prevent me from absorbing loads of knowledge from that session. I took notes and learned many things such as what one should do when visiting a college campus and the difference between early action and early decision. More importantly, I gained a personal feel of each of the five colleges represented there, Rice, Cornell, University of Chicago, Brown, and Columbia. Besides imparting on to me intriguing trivia, for example, the guy who is responsible for Gollum's character in the LOTR movies teaches at Cornell, this session made me realize that I must discern what qualities I want in my future college. This reflection will assist me when I meet with Ms. Kim this coming Sunday, and of course, in the fall when I'm applying to college. On a further note, University of Chicago and Columbia appealed strongly to me.
On Tuesday, I went to the Pinole City Council Meeting to be recognized as a participant of the ILC from Pinole. Unfortunately, I was not conscientious of the time, and thus I arrived to the meeting late. This was an awful blunder, but it taught me a harsh lesson regarding punctuality which will definitely stick with me. It also made me realize that I must not take things for granted, most especially a priceless opportunity such as studying in Yale on behalf of the ILC. Besides that, I, along with the four other Pinoleans (go Spartans!) was awarded a certificate of recognition from the Pinole City Council. I expressed a few words of gratitude, but I wish I had had a better delivery. However, I know I will strengthen my speaking skills even further this summer at Ivy Scholars.
Wednesday was the culmination of this week's ILC "festivities". It was the school board meeting at LaVonya DeJean Middle School in which us thirty ILC students were formally recognized by the school board. It was incredible. Here, we symbolicly received certificates congratulating us on our acceptance to prestigious summer programs. However, we students simultaneously received something more. We were endowed with the knowledge of being aware of what we all are truly a part of by being a part of the ILC. Our parents' presence showed that we are part of something they can be proud of. Our teachers' presence showed that our achievements are built upon the efforts of others. Our sponsors' presence showed that the ILC is a positive program that must exist no matter the costs. Mr. Gosney's presence showed that it was a big deal (not to mention the gigantic group photo!). The ILC alumni's presence showed the effictiveness of the program in making WCCUSD students prestigious university material, but despite that, people whom still continue to care about their community back home. Our presence showed the beginning of a summer of enlightenment.
Once again, thank you Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Kronenberg, Mr. Gosney, and everyone else who makes things, such as this past week, possible!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Dinner at Lalime's
The Yale dinner was incredible. The food was delicious, but hearing Professor Luong speak was undoubtedly the real treat of the dinner.
From the first moment that I found out that I was accepted to Yale Ivy Scholars and the Ivy League Connection, I have been ecstatic. However, Professor Luong's explanations of the admissions process, descriptions of the program and Yale College itself, and anecdotes about all sorts of things have made me beyond excited. Now, I feel extremely motivated to remain worthy of this amazing opportunity by doing things such as studying harder for my AP tests, which are unfortunately in three weeks.
Of course, it was also a pleasure to meet everyone else who attended the dinner. They all contributed to this eye-opening experience with their insight and questions on different matters. I'm glad to have met Jessica and Matt and look forward to sharing this "journey to Yale" with them. I really wish Stephanie Ny was able to attend this dinner, because it truly was a glimpse of the two weeks we shall spend in New Haven this summer.
Thank you so much Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Kronenberg, and Mr. Gosney for making the dinner possible!
From the first moment that I found out that I was accepted to Yale Ivy Scholars and the Ivy League Connection, I have been ecstatic. However, Professor Luong's explanations of the admissions process, descriptions of the program and Yale College itself, and anecdotes about all sorts of things have made me beyond excited. Now, I feel extremely motivated to remain worthy of this amazing opportunity by doing things such as studying harder for my AP tests, which are unfortunately in three weeks.
Of course, it was also a pleasure to meet everyone else who attended the dinner. They all contributed to this eye-opening experience with their insight and questions on different matters. I'm glad to have met Jessica and Matt and look forward to sharing this "journey to Yale" with them. I really wish Stephanie Ny was able to attend this dinner, because it truly was a glimpse of the two weeks we shall spend in New Haven this summer.
Thank you so much Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Kronenberg, and Mr. Gosney for making the dinner possible!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
First post
I shall use this blog to document my journey from Pinole to New Haven. Hopefully, it will be nothing short of amazing (I still can't believe I'm going!).
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