The School Board Meeting and Brunch at La Strada

It has been quite some time since this meeting occurred but I wanted to give my insight on it. The event was a complete success and most significantly it was wonderful. I felt so special being presented to the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) Board of Education along with the other ILC members who like myself this summer will engage in a summer program at some of the most distinguished schools in the East Coast. The experience was absolutely terrific. I would like to thank Mr. Ramsey and the rest of the individuals involved in the ILC for making all of this possible. I really enjoyed meeting my chaperon, who looks like a really nice person and who will surely make my trip even more memorable. I really liked the part where all the members of the ILC were presented directly to the School Board and were given a very nice certificate in recognition for being in the program and for what they are to do this summer. The people in the audience seemed very impressed with what all of us are going to be doing over the summer and it made me realize the appreciation that people hold for us. Additionally, it was great to hear a fellow ILC member who is going to start his freshmen year in college at Columbia University. What really made the night even more special was the fact that my mother was there and that surprisingly my eight grade English teacher was in the audience. Afterwards, she told me that she was very proud and that it seemed that during all these years I have been keeping busy. Beside is a snapshot of everyone participating in the Women and Leadership course at Brown University, it was taken during the time when Don was taking the pictures of the ILC during the Board Meeting.



Today at La Strada, we had a terrific brunch. I found it particularly informative and enriching. I learned so many new things about Brown that only make me want to be there more and more. I'm becoming really fond of this university due to all the resources and opportunities that it provides its students with.

All the things that were discussed at this meeting were so exciting and helpful. For example, I learned that Brown actually has Classics which is one of the majors that I am debating about at the moment. The fact that Brown also offers its students plenty of research opportunities and to study abroad are only two of the many reasons of why I am considering Brown as the right place for me to spend four critical years of my life at.

We had great speakers at this meeting, like Madeline Kronenberg, the WCCUSD School Board President, who welcomed everyone to the event. We also had Cynthia Fong, a student of the WCCUSD who will attend Brown in the fall of this year, deliver a speech concerning her experience in the ILC and at the summer programs she was able to attend during her high school career. In addition, two other fellow ILC members Austin Long and Lucero Perez presented a speech. Afterwards, Linda Cohen, the principal of Coronado Elementary School, spoke about the necessity to push students and motivate them to excel in school really made me think about the elementary school that I attended and how we could all help the young students of the WCCUSD. In the end, she invited the ILC students to Coronado so that we could make some presentations next year, which I am really considering doing. Then we had the admission officers speak about the programs at Brown and other things that Brown has to offer. I really admired the fact that the admission officers are really dedicated to their jobs and are so helpful. I absolutely loved Antonio Medrado's closing speech it was absolutely inspiring and no doubt able to get its message across.

The food at La Strada was delicious and the atmosphere inviting. I loved the fact that we had the opportunity to have many of our questions concerning Brown answered. La Strada was just the right place to hold this event and welcome the admission officers of Brown University. Thank you Mr. Ramsey and the rest of the people involved with the ILC for this amazing experience!

(Featured in the picture are Mr. Ramsey and myself at the end of the brunch at La Strada