On Monday the 6th, I attended another event with all of the 2016 Ivy League Connection scholars. When I arrived with my mom at Pinole Middle School (luckily, I was not one of the poor souls who got confused and went to Pinole Valley High School instead), our group was gathered outside of the gym waiting for someone to unlock it. It was our chaperone, Mr. Hillyer, who eventually located a custodian, and we began helping Don unload his car.
Once we all made it inside, Don introduced himself to all of our parents and explained how the night would be structured. Throughout the night, he made sure that they knew all of the information that he had stressed to us at the Tutorial. Obviously, its important for everyone involved to know exactly what is going on and what is expected of them. I have to admit that I had not shared everything that I had learned so far with my mom.
After each of the chaperones introduced themselves to the entire group, we branched off with our cohorts to go over the itineraries for our trips and the details that were specific to us. This part of the night was very exciting for me, because it was what I had been waiting for since I earned my scholarship.
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| Mr. Hillyer (far right) made sure we had everything we needed to know by the time the Orientation was over |
Luckily, our trip will include visits to Columbia and Georgetown, both of which are schools that I am interested in. I am really looking forward to seeing New York City and Washington DC for the first time, as well. Of course, we will be spending the majority of our time in Philadelphia, where we will get to experience an exciting Fourth of July celebration. Our program itself sounds like it will be very enriching both in and out of the classroom, with activities scheduled nearly every evening for us.
Mr. Hillyer let us know that parts of our trip will be demanding and tiring, but it will be worth it. At the Orientation we also found out what dates we will be gone for, which means that I can officially start marking my calendar!
All that's left to do know is to make sure that I have everything I need for the three weeks I will be gone (some of which can be provided by the ILC), and to start packing! The trip is coming up close, and I feel ready to take on the challenge.
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| Don got us all on the same page and offered several loaner items |
Allonna, remember that your blog during this summer must be less about your typical, 'rote', observation of what happened but about how it made you feel and what you got out of it. One example is instead of saying, "We were late getting into the gym until Mr. Hillyer got a custodian" think about, "I felt anxious as we prepared to enter into the gym but was excited to find out more details about the trip and where we are going." The difference being that one is describing what is happening, while the latter focuses more on your feelings and ideas.
ReplyDeleteHope that makes sense! Thanks for getting the blogs in!