Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Reflection Thoughts

"What's the Ivy League Connection?" Was the first thing that came to mind when I found out that I was suitable for this program. I didn't expect to have to go through such a vigorous application process. Well, I actually didn't expect what was to come to begin my journey in the first place.

I stood proud and tall after I completed each step of my application. Going through each step made me reconsider if I was prepared for whats to come. The essay, recommendations, and interview were the perfect things to ready my mind set. Hearing my name called for my acceptance built a new road for possibilities that I've never expected possible.

I was overwhelmed when I arrived in Rhode Island. Knowing that my family wasn't with me and I had to live with brand new people I just met put me outside of my comfort zone. Over time, the girls and I bonded on a deeper level which made us into a brand new family, the Ivy League Family. We all had the same similarity, we were sleep deprived each day.

I've learned so much from this scholarship program. Touring four other colleges aside from Brown has broaden my horizons of what colleges are about. Each gave me different opinions and what I want versus what I don't in a school. Aside from what I like, I gained more knowledge of how the application process works, what courses are offered, and the general environment of possibly my new school. I would have never put too much thought into what colleges I might be interested in, but these tours have created new questions in my mind that I want to ask myself, "Is this place really the one for me?"

Taking a two week summer course was more difficult then I assumed. Late nights working on homework reminded me of high school, but three times more intense. We didn't have much work to do each night, but trying to find a balance between social and work life threw my sense of direction off of  harmony. There were a million more distractions and activities I wanted to be apart of, and it was tough to pull myself out of doing those irrelevant things, especially when my new friends wanted to participate. The Women and Leadership class not only gave me a glance of how college will be, but it made me explore the role of women. Women had no equal rights what so ever compared to men, but because of perseverance and desire to become equal, we soon changed history to become what we are today.

The Ivy League Connection offers amazing opportunities to the WCCUSD school district. Without, I wouldn't have been able to visit the East Coast. Thank you founders, donors, supporters, alumni, and the East Coast school's admission officers. You've all helped to create a program that will thrive and continue on in the future. There was so much I've taken from my travels, and that sparked my interests to look into both West and East Coast schools. Now as an alumna of the ILC, I will be happy to tell those at my current school my experience of a pre-college life and how it impacted me.



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