ILC Orientation: Just Two More Weeks Until Take-Off

Front of Pinole Middle School

Today, at Pinole Middle School, was orientation for the ILC program. There, all 38 of us gathered to be given more details about our upcoming trips. The meeting got off to a bit of a rough start when there were a few students who showed up late. Mr. Ramsey took advantage the  of this time to give us all a lesson on the high importance and value of being punctual in life. He also described how critical it is to follow procedure. Mr. Ramsey very intuitively related some of his experiences as a lawyer to us all in order to give all of us a clearer picture over the importance following procedures has. After all but one of the ILCers had arrived, the meeting began.

At the beginning, Don took time to reiterate most of what Mr. Ramsey had earlier discussed  about punctuality and following procedure. Don also gave a bit of insight as to how our flights would work out. He told us all that our departure point would be El Cerrito High School. At that point a thought came to my mind. El Cerrito was where I had my interview and was accepted into the ILC program, and in about two weeks it would be where my departure to the East Coast would commence. After that Don moved on to give us all other details about our departure, such as how we all needed to have our medical cards and government issued I.D's. Further in, he took time to go over some of the loaner items he had available. There were many items that we could rent out, such as Ethernet cables (which we would become a necessity on the East Coast), USB fans, and steam irons.

 

Imagine all the knowledge packed inside this 1700 page book

After Don had gone over the majority of the basic information we all needed to know, we were broken off into individual cohorts. I did not take long to find the room that was designated for the Columbia cohort and we all filed in to take a seat. Once there our amazing chaperone, Ms. L, once again expressed her grandiose excitement for the trip, one that I am pretty sure the majority of us in the room were feeling. From there Ms. L handed out a few bits of paperwork that our parents needed to sign. She then directed her attention to the six of us that make up the Columbia cohort. She began by asking if we were all excited for the big trip that was just a little less than two weeks away. Just as Ms. L was about to move on and discuss another topic, Don walked in with a medium sized box. Out of the box he pulled out three of the largest books I had ever had the pleasure of holding. He told us that these would be the textbooks for the Constitutional Law members. I must admit it did take me by surprise as to the size of the book ( a total of around 1700 pages). After Ms. L continued on with what she had to say to both the ILCers and their parents. She gave us all a brief verbal itinerary for our trip. She gave us the layout for the travel dates and flights, although a clear time for when we needed to be at El Cerrito was not given. Also we were told a overall blueprint for where and what we would be doing everyday on the East Coast. We were given some basics on what we should and should not include in our luggage, as well as what would be available to us at Columbia. After a few questions and answers we were off again to the main room to present closing remarks.

The closing remarks began with a congratulations to all ILCers for having made it this far in the program. There, I began to think of all the work that had been required of me to reach that point, work that I feel I had gained a lot from even though I had yet to embark on my journey to N.Y.C. When everything had been said and done we were all then excused to go home.



ILC Orientation

Overall, I feel that it was an amazing night. Not only did I get to see some of the other ILCers again but I also received valuable information about the trip; information that made me even more excited for the big day. In about two weeks, I would embark on one of the most life-altering experiences I would ever have the pleasure of having. I would gain knowledge that normally would be outside of my grasp and would then be able to bring all that information back to the members of my high school to encourage them to pursue their dreams of obtaining a better education. I would then have the honor of being able to encourage other students that possibilities lie outside the University of California system. and that with effort boundaries are limitless.