Dream Boulevard

What a night! The much-anticipated Brown dinner happened last night at the award-winning Boulevard restaurant in San Francisco. This was an opportunity to get to know some of the alumni and current students from Brown, as well as the sponsors. What better way to meet them than over some excellent food at a high-quality restaurant?

I was a bit nervous, but excited nonetheless. The Brown University bound ILCers met at the El Cerrito Plaza BART station. Before we left, I was impressed to see the new and extensively edited photo of this year’s ILC group. Once we arrived in SF, we walked the few short blocks to Boulevard, which was situated right across from a dazzling view of the Bay Bridge. The atmosphere inside the restaurant was filled with chatter and mouth-watering aromas. We actually got to use the underground private room, where we had a chance to mingle with the alums and sponsors before being seated.

I had the pleasure of sharing a table with ‘05 Brown alums Blake Gurfein and Simon Hong, along with my fellow cohort members David and Kelly. Once everyone had found their place, Ms. Kronenberg began the program by having everybody introduce themselves, and was followed by the planned speakers for the night. Simon talked about the Brown mentorship program as one of its representatives. Andrew Gonzales, a former ILCer who will be attending Brown this fall, spoke of the ILC and how it helped him to broaden his horizons. Two of this year’s ILC students, Nick and Abigail gave very expressive speeches about what it meant to be a part of the ILC, and the importance of giving back. The speakers all spoke passionately, relating their own experience and aspirations and adding to the purpose of the dinner. Afterwards Mr. Ramsey gave the closing remarks, and everyone turned back to dining and talking with each other.

A picture is worth a thousand words!

Our table had many interesting conversations during the dinner. Simon and Blake shared their experiences and what they went through as students. Talking with them really pumped me up for Brown and put my mind at ease knowing what to expect. Blake talked about how he discovered his real interest in neuroscience. He encouraged that we try out many different things and reach out to the opportunities around us. It got me thinking about what I really want, and inspired me to want to fulfill my dreams even more and be successful like them.

Time really flew and before I knew it, we were positioning for the group photo and getting ready to leave. Overall, it was a night full of stimulating conversations, great food, and helped me prepare for the road to Brown.