A Night to Remember

Today was the first of many ILC dinners for the Columbia cohort. It was a night full of laughter, information, and socialization. In retrospect, the event was  a real good foreshadow of what the future dinners on the east coast will be like. This thought makes me even more excited for the big trip.

The amazing restaurant, Prospect

To recap, the evening began with me arriving at the El Cerrito Plaza BART Station. There  my mother and I met with Don, the rest of the cohort and their parent, as well as other important figures of the Ivy League Connection such as Mr. Ramsey and Mrs. Kronenberg (both members of the Board of Education). After we all finally arrived we waited for a while for our train to arrive and then proceeded with our big adventure for the night.

Once arriving in San Francisco, we made a short walk to a restaurant named Prospect. According to Don, this venue is one of the finer ones that ILC dinners are held at in San Francisco because of its great service and delicious food. I very much agree with this opinion after tonight.

The night began with some introductions to what the purpose of the ILC program was and what we would be expected to bring back from it by Mrs. Kronenberg. After thanking everyone in attendance-ILCers, sponsors, Board members, Don, and parents- we proceeded to speeches given by my fellow cohort members, Emily Cain and Elena Battas. Both their speeches were really great and also really portrayed the sentiment and gratitude we all feel toward the ILC program and its members. Following both speeches, Mr. Ramsey gave a very mind opening speech that really made me think. He talked about the responsibility everyone should have in helping others and not  be selfish, but rather selfless. Also he discussed how we all had to be leaders, not followers, which really made my mind reflect on my current lifestyle.

My new outstanding friend, Kenyatta Monroe-Sinkler

At the restaurant I was given the pleasure to be seated at a table with two alumni from Columbia, Kenyatta Monroe-Sinkler (graduated 1991) and Miguel Castro (graduated 2011). Both were really nice people who clearly had good wishes for all of the ILCers there. During the night we talked about many different topics. Mrs. Monroe-Sinkler offered many helpful insights as to what to expect at Columbia by describing some of her experiences there. She especially depicted how the lifestyle at Columbia differed from when she attended there. Apart from that she also explained some of the key places we should visit there such as the Museum of Modern Art. She showed great interest when I told her about my desire of visiting the United Nations Headquarter.

 

Me and my new amazing friend, Miguel Castro

Mr. Castro was also a very helpful person who completely illuminated my mind. I spent a lot of time talking to him about a little of everything. At first we discussed over the most critical topic, what to expect from Columbia. He did this, like Mrs. Monroe-Sinkler, by describing his experience there. I found this to be immensely helpful because they both attended the school, so a direct line to actual life experiences really made my mind wrap around what I should be expecting once I head east. Further into the night, Mr. Castro discussed his life story a bit; how he grew up in Alameda in a racially segregated area and always felt somewhat excluded. I felt that I could directly relate to the exclusion feeling because I attend a school where sometimes I am excluded for not following the actions of others of my same race. He also gave me some advice on applying to colleges. On a different note he and I also had a discussion over how he decided to follow a career in teaching and is now pleased to be teaching Freshmen and Juniors.

Simply based of a first impression I could tell he was a person that really had a deep passion for what he did as a career. However, what really sparked my interest was when he told me that at one point he had originally wanted to follow a career in Law but then switched to teaching. I found this very eye opening because, for the majority of my life I had always told myself that I wanted to be lawyer when I grew up. However, his story made me realize that that view could change in the future. He recommended to me, if I did go to Columbia after high school, an internship known as "congressional internship", which gave you access to Capitol Hill in Washington D.C and would provide me with a valuable learning experience.

Throughout the entire evening I couldn't help but feel how the name of the restaurant, Prospect, was describing the likelihood of an amazing adventure

At the end of the night I felt I had really connected with both of the two alumni I was seated with as well as got a glimpse of what to expect on the east coast. They provided me with great information that I will probably find helpful now and in the future. Also both of them gave me real-life examples and experiences of life at Columbia and the immense benefits it would have for us a all. I will definitely be staying in touch with both of them.  It truly was a night to remember; one which I will not be forgetting anytime soon.