Before I participated in the Ivy League Connection this year, I was in it last year as well. I went to Brown University and took the course Women and Leadership. A month before I left the trip, my father invited me to be a part of the ILC Brown Mentorship Program, which pairs Brown alumni/current students with ILCers who are interested in Brown University. I was paired with Corryn Browdsky, who also attended my high school. Over the course of my junior year, Corryn and I exchanged many emails, and she was a great source of comfort when I was stressed out. She also gave me great advice about dealing with the rigors of school and preparing for the college application process. The mentor program has many fun events, as we went to a brunch at the Olympic Club, a Raiders Game, and saw Billy Elliott in San Francisco.
I was invited to come back to the mentor program and happily accepted. I am really excited to see new faces, as majority of the student members who were in it last year graduated from high school this spring. The newest addition to the mentor program is the Yale component! While I am still pairing with Brown, I am happy to see this mentorship program growing.
This Sunday, the first mentor event was held at the Olympic Club. My Uncle Ismail is a member of the club and was able to secure this event for us. We had a buffet brunch and got to reconnect not only with other ILCers, but with some old faces as well. I was really happy to see Elizabeth Gonzales and Donna Chung again, who just graduated from Brown this spring! Both of them attended El Cerrito High School. Elizabeth majored in sociology and is looking into UC Berkeley's graduate schools, and Donna majored in psychology and education. She is now pursuing a Master's degree at Stanford University.
I thoroughly enjoyed the brunch. It was interesting to learn about how Brown is evolving as a campus. Donna mentioned that Brown is trying to make the freshmen more accustomed with each other, as they are trying to make freshmen-only residence halls and a possible freshmen quad. One concept I definitely remembered about Brown was there sense of unity.
Attending this brunch made me realize even more how my love for Brown really shines through. I have begun working on my college applications and hope that my new mentor can provide insight on my personal statement and supplements, especially for Brown University.
