I am still astounded at the generosity of the Ivy League Connection. They have placed an enormous responsibility upon us students who accept their donation. As I wrote in my very first post, I would be remissed if I took this gift, used it as a springboard, and went of to be enormously successful for myself alone. Yet while the money plays a roll, it is the responsibility I feel to the people I go to school with, and the community I am from itself, that urges me to do something positive for them. Because I went to a "future leaders" program with a bunch of other people who had no idea what it was like to go to an intercity school, who had never even interacted with someone who was totally out of their social or economic class. I am an unabashed liberal, and I met many people who had similar views as I did, but had no empathy for the people they wanted to help. Even in them I saw a disconnect, and while it was better than the "let them eat cake" attitude I saw in many students, that worries me about their capability to represent people like those from WCCUSD.
I do not know what the ultimate goal of Ivy League Connection is; what the purpose of encouraging a select few from our district to go on and be successful. But I know how I feel about it. I will take all the help I can get, to become equipped to promote positive change, and act on the understanding I gained from El Cerrito High. I hope my program mates feel the same way because now I know how few of us there really are who feel as I do, and know what I know. Most of all I hope that the ILC's investment in us is worth it in that regard.
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