Columbia, Here I Come!

Today, the Ivy League Connection Program had an orientation at Pinole Middle School.

The orientation began with the introductions of the Ivy League Connection's chaperones, followed by the speeches from both Charles Ramsey and Madeline Kronenberg. They spoke about the importance of making a good impression and how the way we present ourselves can affect a person's personal opinion of not only us, but on our entire school district as well.

As the chosen representatives of West Contra Costa Unified School District we are expected to act as the nature young adults that our communities raised us to be, and I, for one, am ready to exceed to expectations.

After all introductions and formalities were said and done with, it was Don Gosney's turn to speak. Don mainly focused on what sort of items we should pack during our trip. Most of them were pretty standard items, like a camera, bed sheets, and a towel; other things on the list, however, seemed a bit unconventional--like zip-lock and trash bags. However, when Don went into greater detail, everything began to make a lot more sense. In fact, I've cone to really appreciate Don's advice! For instance, you ever thought of using trash bags to keep your wet clothes from getting mildew everywhere? I certainly haven't--and I'd like to thank Don for the tip!

When Don had finished speaking, the cohorts, parents, and chaperones were then grouped together by their respective schools and assigned a classroom, where they would discuss their school's itinerary in detail.

When my fellow cohorts and I seated ourselves in our designated classroom, my chaperone, Mrs. L, passed out packets detailing our travel schedule and what we should expect our dorms to be like. We were even able to talk to a few students who gave us a clearer idea of what to expect. Two were from Vassar, another school that we shall be briefly visiting, and former Columbia ILCer!

I felt that today's orientation was really helpful and that I feel more prepared for my upcoming trip. It's really hard to believe that today was the Ivy League Connection's last major event before heading off. And it's even harder to that on June 18th, which is in less than three weeks, I'll be on my way to Columbia!