Just kidding, Don.It was a pleasant sight to see so many bright ILC students arriving early to the Hercules Library this morning for the Tutorial Session 1. Even though I am a returning participant of the Ivy League Connections this year, this was my first time attending a blogging tutorial session under Don Gosney. Complications from last year's blogs has led to the need for this mandatory meeting and I was very curious to see what I could improve on in regards to my future blog post from Yale this summer. (So, thank you Don!)The entire conference room was filled - a good mix of representatives from all the ILC programs and high schools. One of my greatest regrets from my experience last year was missing out on the opportunity to really reach out to the other ILC cohorts. Looking back at this meeting, I am pleased to say I've met a handful of new friends and am even more enthusiastic about meeting the rest of them very soon. (After all, I could very well be talking to the next CEO of a large corporation, government official, or other high-profile individual out to make our community a better place.)I found the tutorial to be an informative and kind gesture for all of us. I'm sure many of the ILC cohorts today felt that some of the materials presented to us seemed like pretty basic blogging aspects and/or technological details they could probably be picked up quickly after some time. However, there also are those important words of wisdom which goes that: "it is always better to be safe than sorry". Certainly, many of what Don told us regarding blogging were of no surprise to me since I've encountered much of this first-hand last year, but I still found the information important. I strongly believe that there is always room for improvement and, therefore, I aim to better the quality of my blog posts from the ones I've done for Cornell last year. (Among the many things I'll start doing include less recapping on descriptions and details and more on my impressions and analysis, in addition to maintaining a better filing system for the many, many photos I'll be taking while at the East Coast.)
Kathleen He and Adrianne Ramsey take front-row seats for Don's Blogging Tutorial Session.
Erin Miller attends the session with her mother.
An example of a good blog post. This one is done recently by ILC alumni Austin Long.
Closing words and remarks.
When this session came to a close, fellow Yalie Matt Lee and I met up briefly with our chaperon, Lori Nardone, to discuss general plans specifically about our trip to Yale this summer (Tom couldn't join us today, unfortunately, because he was out of town). From making dinner reservations with college representatives as our honored guests, to gushing over the the many adventures we'll have before we begin the arduous work that lies ahead, I am pleased to say that the Yalies are getting off on a great start. The three of us - with our parents - will be meeting up with Lori again sometime next week to go over more details and paperwork for our trip.
This meeting has truly recaptured the joy and excitement I had put off due to the recent stress of AP testing, SAT, and school. I am very pleased to be so involved in making the reservations and plans for the couple of days before the start of class since I didn't get this opportunity last year. Also, I'm especially looking forward to meeting the college representatives and touring the college campuses while I am at the East Coast this summer.
As a junior this year, colleges have never looked so near and have never become more important to me. In a blink of an eye, I'll be a senior and applying for college myself, and there's nothing I fear more than having the regret of not knowing all the things I should have learned when I had the chance to. The college tours and meetings I had with college representatives last year was my first taste of the whole process. Now, I'm more experienced and ready to take advantage this great opportunity. This time, I'm ready to ask specific questions and make an effort to make sure that I present myself well upon meeting these representatives. Plus, it helps a lot that the three schools we'll be visiting prior to Yale - Princeton, U. Penn, and Columbia - are all schools I've long admired and wish to apply to. This could be my lucky break and I'm thankful just how lucky I can be from time to time.
