Thirty-Eight ILC Students Presented to the School Board!

On Wednesday night all thirty-eight of the Ivy League Connection students were presented to the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) School Board at the school board meeting. We all arrived at the Lavonya Dejean Middle School around six o'clock. 


Because the meeting had not yet started, we all mingled with our cohorts and other ILC students for about a half an hour. Among the people I mingled with during this half an hour was Tomi Balogun. She is also a student at Middle College High School and went to Columbia last year (this is her second year with the ILC). She recommended places to go and things to see while in New York City.  


At roughly 6:30 the meeting began. All of the ILC students sat with their cohorts and chaperones. After conducting a  few orders of business the Board stopped the meeting in order for the ILC students to be presented. Each cohort went up with their chaperone. The chaperone introduced themselves, the students, the school they are going to, the courses the students are going to take, and the schools they are going to tour. (I am definitely jealous of the cohorts that are touring Harvard.) At the end of the chaperone's speech, they would introduce their student speaker. Simon was the speaker for the Columbia cohort.


The student speaker portions of the event were my favorite parts of the evening. All of the speeches were roughly 2-4 minutes long. I liked them so much because they were all so inspirational. It was very interesting listening to several different students from several different schools and backgrounds share their experiences and thoughts of the Ivy League Connection. As an audience member and a student in the same position as the speakers I could really relate to what they were saying, their thankfulness, and their excitement. They have made this whole experience and future events seem so much more real.


Another part of the evening that I greatly enjoyed was at the end and all of the ILC cohorts had been presented. Mrs. Kronenberg and Mr. Ramsey spoke for several minutes about the Ivy League Connection making me feel even more grateful for this amazing opportunity. They also managed to put everything into perspective and show just how immense this experience will be.


The final part of the evening was when Don took the big picture! I sat in the front row on the very end. After he positioned the students, he positioned the parents. He took about 20+ pictures. By the end, my cheeks hurt and I was seeing spots.


Being presented to the Board and hearing all of the wonderful heartfelt speeches is something I will never forget.