It's almost like deja vu, being back in Providence again. We're checking into the Symposium for Social Change tomorrow. The aim of the Symposium is to help the most serious and motivated Summer@Brown Leadership Institute students move forward with their Action Plans.
As you may know, my Action Plan entails developing and carrying out peer-to-peer workshops in my high school about how and why to stop homophobia. As President of the Gay-Straight Alliance at El Cerrito HS, I have partnered with similar clubs at two other schools (Berkeley High and Portola Middle) and trained our club members. The first workshops are happening on November 10.
I have questions and issues to be resolved, though. Thankfully, the Symposium will be full of opportunities to get these problems worked out. There will be leadership alumni panels, skill-building workshops, and people who will help us with content-specific resources. I hope to return to El Cerrito with a wealth of new knowledge, skill, and confidence, ready to press forward and combat homophobia.
The decorations in the Hotel Providence.
Ms. Kronenberg, Lydia, and I arrived at the Hotel Providence a few hours ago to check in - and what a treat! They gave us a $100 dinner and a $40 breakfast gift certificate for the hotel restaurant. We suspect it was because the Ivy League Connection has been such a loyal customer, sending students and chaperones to stay here year after year. We engaged in some lively debate over dinner - we talked about teacher evaluation methods and the rights of student immigrants. I learned so much just from conversing with Ms. Kronenberg. She's so knowledgeable about practically everything having to do with schools.
We're leaving early tomorrow morning for Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. I plan to do homework in the car. Once we arrive, we're scheduled for a tour, an info session, and a quick meeting with the admissions officer from Northern California. I'm really excited - Wesleyan is one of my top choices for college, so I can't wait to set foot on the campus.
Lydia's prediction about tomorrow, formed by Scrabble tiles in the hotel lobby.
