Columbia Feels Closer Than Ever!

Today was the first day of one of the busiest weeks of my time at El Cerrito High School. It is AP testing time, I have an upcoming physics quiz, a college fair, and to top that all off, the exciting ILC dinner and giving a speech at this week’s school board meeting. I woke up this morning, excited and ready for school to end so that I could put on my suit  and attend the dinner for the Columbia cohort in San Francisco. We would be meeting and dining with some Columbia alumni, with the ILC leaders, our Columbia chaperone, and with a few of our many generous sponsors that make our program possible.

We met precisely at 5:20 PM at the El Cerrito Plaza BART Station to catch the train into the city. On the BART ride I talked with fellow cohort members and discussed school and extracurriculars, particularly the impressive record of the El Cerrito High girls softball team! I also talked with a current student at Columbia and graduate of El Cerrito High, Matt Arciniega. When we arrived in San Francisco we walked a few blocks to the Prospect restaurant.

Walking into the beautiful Prospect restaurant.

We were led to a large private dining room in the back of the restaurant and were given assigned seats. At my table was myself, my mother, fellow cohort member Emily Cain, her mother Tracy, Don, Matt, and a Columbia graduate who now works at Google named Mitchell Flax. Before I get into what this dinner meant to me and some valuable life lessons I learned tonight, I must talk about the food. It is probably best that I get it out of the way sooner rather than later. 

The menu had two options for a starter, entree, and dessert. I chose the seared scallops for my appetizer, which was an excellent choice. The scallops were cooked perfectly and tasted incredible, especially when mixed with the relish they were coated in. For my entree I had a Berkshire pork. A generous portion of meat which was cooked to perfection. Finally I ate the chocolate cake for dessert. This was an incredibly rich and dense cake which was an excellent way to finish my meal.

But I did not attend this dinner simply for the food. I attended to get to know who was making our trip possible, and to talk with people who are currently attending or have graduated from Columbia University. The first part of our dinner saw a few speakers talk in front of everyone. One of the program heads, Ms. Kronenberg, talked about one of the many purposes of the ILC. She explained that one reason the ILC was created was to broaden the horizons of high schoolers. That it is important for the participants of the ILC to return home and educate their peers about the endless college options and possibilities outside of California and the Bay Area.

Charles Ramsey, one of the founders of the ILC, gave a different perspective of the purpose of the ILC. He explained that one of the most important qualities that humans can have is selflessness. To be able to help people you have never met before is a valuable human quality that leads to a successful life. He also warned us against becoming “followers”. To submit to the status quo and to not be an individual. He told us that the ILC is designed to make us more confident, and to make us into individuals and community leaders. Finally he explained the significance of knowledge. Feelings like pleasure, and power are short lived, and only knowledge stays with you all your life. In order to succeed you should acquire the most valuable commodity there is: knowledge. 

Both Emily Cain and Elena Battas both gave speeches about how they felt about ILC. They provided excellent contrasting views, one from an ILC veteran’s perspective and the other from an ILC first-timer.  But they made it clear in expressing their gratitude to everyone who has made this experience possible, and in expressing our excitement for the summer to come!

Sitting at the table with Matt and Mitchell, I got a lot of excellent insight into Columbia University. I learned a bit of the history of the University, and talked about more fun things like which professors are good and which ones are not. I enjoyed every minute of discussing Mitchell’s work at Google, to my life plans with both Matt and Mitchell, each of whom were very nice and happy to share information. At the end of the evening Mitchell he gave me his business card to contact him with more questions about Columbia. I have no doubt I will keep in contact with him! 

Matt, Emily, Mitchell, and myself at our table.

Our dinner at Prospect was a very interesting and meaningful milestone event for the ILC. I learned so much, from both the speaker presentations to the conversations over dinner. With every event I go to I get more and more excited for school to end and for me to get on that plane to New York. I am so glad to be a part of this program and I want to personally thank all the sponsors, coordinators, chaperones and district personnel who are making this all possible, and for the alumni for sharing their own experiences with us.