One Amazing Night

The Cornell alumni dinner at the One Market Restaurant in San Francisco was absolutely amazing. It was full of delicious food, wonderful company, and interesting conversations.

One of my most memorable events of the night was listening to Linda Cohen, the principal of Coronado Elementary. I found her to be an incredibly interesting individual and she had many words of wisdom to impart. She shared with me many interesting stories about her job as a principal and her college years at Georgetown and Harvard. As it is my career goal to be a school principal, she even offered to let me shadow her! Mrs. Cohen also told me of a time when she was fresh out of college and she decided to find a job by forwarding her resume to the United States Secretary of State and Secretary of Labor. Even though neither of them had a job for her, she said they still passed her resume around to others they knew that worked on Capital Hill. This is where she realized the weight of a diploma from a prestigious college.

Another memorable conversation I had was with Joseph Young, an El Cerrito High School senior who will be attending Cornell University in the fall. Joseph is a true Ivy League Connection success story and his acceptance has helped me see for myself that attending an Ivy League school is within my reach, as a student in WCCUSD. He spoke of the many different types of people we will meet at Cornell that come from all over the country and all over the world! I am incredibly happy for him and I hope he enjoys his next few years at Cornell.

Being a part of the ILC is an incredible privilege, and I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity. But, just as Mr. Ramsey said, we should be paying it forward. The 7 Cornellians, as Ivy League Connection ambassadors, are expected to promote the award winning Ivy League Connection program and spread the growing college-going culture throughout our schools.

Our final event prior to our departure is the ILC orientation and then, on June 23, the 7 Cornellians, Mrs. Kaplan, and Mr. Ramsey will be on a plane heading out to Ithaca, New York.