Meeting The School Board

I remember attending school board meetings in the past, but today was a brand new experience for me. This was the exciting day when this year’s ILCers were presented and made known before school board and the rest of the world.

David Fang, Ms. Kaplan and I

In between packing for a Vancouver band trip, I went to attend the board meeting with my mom. We arrived just barely on time, and I promptly made my way into the auditorium, exchanging quick greetings with Mr. Ramsey at the door. Inside the auditorium was abuzz with chatter, and already packed full. After a while, the ILC 2012 was called to attention. Our Brown Cohort 1 began the procession as the first to be shown off. It was a proud moment when Ms. Kaplan introduced us, even though she guessed my school incorrectly (ECHS!).

We were applauded and led off to one side, where we each received a fancy official-looking certificate. Then one by one each cohort was presented. Standing on the side I looked into the crowd and saw nothing but respect from them. At that moment I just felt so honored to be representing my community and school district.

Later, when every cohort had been introduced, the sponsors of the program were presented and acknowledged. Although I have never met any of them, I cannot express enough my gratitude for their contribution to the Ivy League Connection to make this opportunity a reality for us.

Positioning for picture-perfect

Next, Austin Long and Terylin Chen, two ILC alums, came up to speak. They gave very inspirational speeches about what it means to be a part of the Ivy League Connection, their experiences as part of the ILC, and what it has done for them. Austin is currently a rising sophomore at Yale University (wow!), and Terylin has been accepted to Harvard (wow again!). I extremely admired their motivation to excel as well as dedication to this program and in giving back to the community. An interesting and amusing detail that Terylin mentioned in her speech was about her interview for Harvard. Aside from asking generic questions, they also conversed about Spongebob Squarepants among other topics! This made me wonder about what exactly colleges look for. One point that both speakers made clear was ”This program works! It really does.” And I don’t doubt them.

I can hardly believe that this trip is coming in less than a month! Now that I realize how my adventure to Brown is right around the corner, I could not be more excited about what will definitely be a life-changing experience!