Let the Games Begin

With a rare daylight departure our three Yalies arrived at El Cerrito High School to meet up with their chaperone, pick up any last minute loaner items, receive a few instructions and take the traditional departure photo.

Their luggage was weighed and stowed in the back of the airport shuttle, hugs for the family were distributed and off they went.  As a good sign to start this adventure, traffic to the airport was light, the lines at airport security were almost non-existent and everyone was boarded super early.

Our three Yalies—Tom Miller from El Cerrito High School and Dyana So and Matt Lee from Pinole Valley High School—and their chaperone—Lori Nardone from De Anza High School—will spend the next four days traveling throughout the East Coast visiting Princeton, UPENN and Columbia as well as meeting at some fancy restaurants with representatives from these schools as well as from Swarthmore.

Of course, they’ll do plenty of sightseeing while they’re back there and they’ve promised to post lots of pretty photos.

By the end of the week they’ll be in their dorms at Yale ready to begin the 16 day Grand Strategies program.  During this time they will cover a full year’s course in just 16 days.  Attending classes from the crack of dawn until well after dusk—and then some—seven days per week, their mettle will be tested.  In reading blogs from students across the country after taking this course there seems to be a recurring theme: “what I wouldn’t give for another hour’s sleep”.

To help our Yalies prepare for this course, the ILC provided them with Kindle electronic readers so they could queue up on the 3,807 pages of required reading.  I’m betting that their greatest pleasure on boarding the plane this morning is that they no longer will be hounded by my daily demands for an update on their reading.  Now all they have to worry about is my hounding about their blogs (without interfering or detracting from their studies).

In three weeks time our Yalies will return to us as either tough as nails grand strategists or as cowering puddles of goo.  There is no in between. Don’t be fooled by those that might tell you that the ILC summer programs are nothing more than “college camp”.  These courses are tough college courses and the Yale Ivy Scholars Program is the toughest and most prestigious.  We have a strong history of sending only the best to this program.  They arrive well prepared, shine above the best and make us proud.

Into the Inferno

In a few short hours I will be on my way to one of the greatest journeys of my life.

Both my parents and I have been preparing for this journey ever since I was selected as one of the "chosen few" to venture out into the world and to the castle known as Yale to begin one of the hardest classes we will ever take. We had to absorb almost 4000 pages of reading, pack our belongings, and say goodbye to our friends and family for 3 weeks. Out of all of these preparations I did I thought that throughout this whole time the reading was the hardest thing to do, however after doing some reflection, I've realized that that isn't so.

All reading really required was that I put myself down in one spot, turn on my Kindle and read away. This was a relatively easy task that just consumed most of my days. Nothing truly arduous about it, in fact most of the reading was actually quite interesting. The books: Cyrus the Great, Genghis Khan, Never Eat Alone, and The Peloponnesian War were all interesting in their lessons. A whole new respect of the Mongul culture was thrust into my mind as I read about Genghis Khans life, Keith Ferrazzi's constant lesson of "network, network, and when you're done keep networking" echoes throughout my actions now, and perhaps most important of all I learned the qualities of great leaders such as Cyrus the Great.

I've always felt that physical obstacles, were never as hard to bypass as emotional ones. Friends & family have been there since Day 1 of my life. I've always had them to fall back on and to count on in the darkest hours. However I'm not going to have them during this trip. This harsh reality hit me this very day, as I was cruising Pinole with some of my best and oldest pals. We talked about my upcoming voyage, went around town, and basically just had fun. An overwhelming sense of nostalgia soon arose in the pit of my stomach. All of those fun memories I've shared with my friends, felt like it's all slipping away.

I don't want to leave behind all my loved ones for 3 weeks, but I know that I'll have to sooner or later. Here's another lesson from the ILC that I just learned. Whether by will or force you will have to separate bonds between yourself and the most important people in your life, either forever or for a set amount of time. This is the first time that I'm going to be without these people in my life for this long and I'm learning to use this experience as practice for when the big bullet comes. I'm a high school senior now, graduation is just around the corner. High school feels like a blur, and this blur is on the home stretch. It saddens me deeply to think about that now, but I take comfort in the fact that I can practice making new connections, and applying the skills I've learned throughout my reading in the upcoming weeks.

People have constantly been telling me that the Yale Ivy Scholars Program is the toughest class of them all. I've heard it said that I will have 12 hour work days, class almost every day of the week, and demanding tasks put before me that I will have to overcome. I've tacked many obstacles before in my life, but none as monstrous as this one before me now. However I've done my reading, I've done my packing, and I've even said goodbye to the ones I care about the most. I feel like I'm ready to take this beast by the horns. I'm ready to step into the inferno. Yale, here I come.

Embrace the Incoming Tide

I envision a wave.

Two months ago, that was just a faint line of foam in the distance. Now, it has picked up adrenaline - thundering towards us at a monstrous height. I am the amateur surfer - not too far from land but far enough that there was no turning back now - staring at this intimidating friend or foe, unaware what to anticipate. Tomorrow the tide will come - will I, as they would say, "hang ten", or wipe out? "Only time will tell" responds this overly-used cliche.

1. Making Sacrifices: I can honestly say that in terms of leisure, this was not the summer for it. I had family from Hong Kong that stayed at my home for awhile; lots of recently-graduated high school seniors with lots of time to kill; and numerous hints by my father to take week off to have a family vacation. That could have been my summer but letting myself get carried away with the temptations of recreational activities would only make me regret my decision in the long run. 3,807 pages of reading do not read itself - especially between the timeline of mid-May to the very present mid-July. This was the heaviest reading assignment to date, and while some of the books were admittedly dry, I am glad that, for the most part, they were actually really intriguing texts. Plus, it does feel good to say that you are able to complete such a feat and have the evidence to back it up.
2. Focus: The excitement I have for this upcoming trip is currently neutral (After all, if I was to get any sleep tonight, I best not go to bed restless and incredulously anxious). However, this is not to say that I am not very happy to finally be one day closer to departure. I worked hard all summer long to juggle all this reading alongside my other commitments. With bittersweet hesitation I turned down so many other possibilities - a journalism program at Princeton, art classes at the Academy of Art University SF, and/or a focused vacation dedicated strictly to studying for the ACT. I made my mind up that the YISP was my ultimate prize and I shut my mind off from drifting off to other things I could always pursue some other time. In short, whenever I caught myself taking too long of a break from reading, or worse yet - procrastinating - I remind myself: "are you really going to just give all this up, after all this work and time?"
   
3. Learning from Experience: If there was anything I wanted to make sure I definitely get right for the Yale ISP program, it was packing. I got by just fine at Cornell last year with my slightly under-packed belongings, but I wanted to make sure that, for Yale, everything that I couldn't simply purchase at, say, a Walmart, was stored safely in my orange luggage case. Since the dress code for the the YISP program is a bit distinct - with business casual for the first part of class - a lot of thought had to be put into assembling my list of clothes to pack (I am beyond overjoyed that I started packing five days before - doing a little each day). I made sure to bring another lens and attachable strobe for my Olympus E-P1 camera. I made sure NOT to bring a mirror that I may just candidly stow in my suitcase and expect nothing more than shatter glass shards upon arrival (thankfully, the awful superstition did not carry through since I did have a very pleasant time at Cornell). Lastly, I made sure to be painstakingly detailed with my packing. I knew I simply could not deal with myself if I discovered that just one thing was left back at home after all this quadruple-checking.
4. A Friendly Reminder About Health: If you're like me, capable of having all the work before you take over every aspect of your waking moment, than please do your body a very good favor and take this not stressed-enough advice. Your health is so important. "There's no use in being intelligent and hardworking if you do not even have the energy to carry out all your expectations and items on your agenda", my parents would tell me. I learned this lesson the hard way this previous year and I'm glad I now take greater precautions. An unexpected thyroid infection in May - causes still unknown by doctors - was my wake-up call to make recovery the first priority in my agenda under such circumstances. Finishing your work is important but not so much when you can barely stand from weakness or fatigue. That is why, for this program - the summit to my great climb up this summer mountain - I must make sure to avoid any rash undertakings that could get me horribly ill again. Because, as far as I know from recent experience, a one-month detour from your physical and mental best is a horrible, horrible road trip.
5. Counting your Blessings: Before I sign off for the evening, I must express, not only my gratitude to all the individuals responsible for my attendance to this program, but also recognize just how fortunate my academic upbringing has been for someone like me. My passion to be well-rounded and pursue great education was instilled in me because I was fortunate enough to have certain teachers in my life growing up that believed in me. I am also very lucky to have supportive parents - maybe not financially or as often physically. They never attend Open House or Back-to-School Night because they cannot make time for it when they head off to work. They stopped helping me in math when I entered middle school because of time and lack of confidence to teach me. However, they continue to support my various interests. Although they love it when I get good grades, they tell me constantly that, they love it more that I get good grades but also personally enjoy what it is I'm doing. Many students in this school district alone do not have the lucky balance of supportive teachers and parents. For many, it's either a broken see-saw or, sadly but very real, no support from parents nor teachers. Friends may make a difference but having just one older individual express an earnest appreciation for who you are and trust in your capabilities can mean the world to a little kid growing up. I mean, if you really think about it, just imagine if every single child out there in the world had at least one adult they can truly trust and look up to. With so many young faces driven by inspiration and less self-doubt, there is less room on a sound path to venture off from. Therefore, I look back at my childhood often to remind myself just how fortunate I am. Had I not had Ms. Willis tell me how much she appreciated my writing to grant me a partial scholarship for a writing camp, or Mr. Stelle remark at how much he appreciated my complete assignments and time spent on them, there's no telling what kind of scholar I'd be today. Lastly, to the many people responsible for helping Matt, Tom, and I board our flight tomorrow for Philadelphia and later Yale University, I give a very heartfelt and sincere "thank you" once again. I never though this once Cornellian would get a second chance to further her academic interests but she's very excited to greet this upcoming tide - "hang ten" or not.

Good night Bay Area; I will miss you (partially) this upcoming two weeks and a half.

A Nugget of Truth

One would think that Cyrus the Great's philosophy on empire administration has little to do with Keith Ferazzi's perspective on success in the professional world. Nor would one think that Ghengis Khan's tactics for nation building would have anything in common with Fareed Zakaria's take on how America should move forward in a world where its share of power is increasingly smaller. Well, maybe one would, but nevertheless, not only do those two pairs relate, but they relate to each as well.

Along with myriad views of other writers, philosophers, leaders, intellectuals etc. From the reading of thousands of pages of text on Genghis Khan to the post-American world, I feel as though I have distilled one nugget of advice. President Kennedy said it best when he declared, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." The idea of giving to receive is so powerful, and so uninstinctual that those who have mastered its application have risen to the highest levels of politics, business, etc.

Keith Ferazzi boasts that he has thousands of people, who he could contact with his blackberry no less, who would jump at the chance to grant him favors, advice, etc., not because they owe him, but because they would jump at the chance to help someone who had helped them, or has expressed a willingness to help them in the future. Cyrus the Great built his empire by conquering great swaths of land, and then, over decades, building up his subject nation's infrastructure to create such and unprecedented level of growth and prosperity that they came to love their benevolent rulers. In return he was able to build the most powerful empire to ever originate in the Middle East. Likewise, Genghis Khan presided over the greatest spread of knowledge and trade ever experienced from China to the east end of the Mediterranean, cities in between boomed, and descendants of his ruled well into the 20th century. Fareed Zakaria is a staunch believer in the need for America to cease the forced spread of the "American Way", and to start asking countries, "what can we do for you?"

It seems as though many of the same people have stumbled upon the same universal truth, that living only for yourself, and trying to claw your way alone to the top is far less effective than working with, and for, those around you to succeed.

Improviso - College Faire at Marin Catholic High School

When all you've been doing in a summer is read books like those on the YISP reading list, you tend to observe the people and setting around you differently and by that, I specifically mean strategically. It's just as Sun Tzu would say repeatedly throughout his famous book of grand strategy, The Art of War: "one cannot help but to examine them". And that was the way I saw my unpremeditated evening today - call it my first run-through with reading meets real-world applications.

Confronting Mistakes: Who's fault would it be that that Mr. Ramsey was mysteriously not showing up at El Cerrito High School when an email he sent to Matt Lee said he'd be there at 5:15PM to meet interested YISP students to go to Marin Catholic's College Faire? The answer is not important. No, correction: finding someone to point fingers at is unimportant. The important thing was to acknowledge this peculiar instant, accept the mistake as an irreversible action, and put all our energy towards solving the dilemma at hand. However, that is merely attitude; the lesson to gain here is to kindly treat situations like these as hard-hitting reminders to not repeat the blunder again.

Go Out of Your Way to Be Prepared: After scrolling through our individual contact lists on our cellphones and calling certain friends out of the blue, we finally discovered Mr. Ramsey's phone number. When we called him, we were informed that, due to a seemingly dead interest in the Marin Catholic College Faire, Mr. Ramsey had already made other plans. Now, without pointing any fingers at anybody but myself for the moment, this whole ordeal was another lesson, though learned the hard way again, of the importance of going out your way for the sake of being prepared. There were two things I should have done beforehand - update my own contact list with important contacts like ILC affiliates and send a follow-up email to Mr. Ramsey regarding my participation of this event rather than relying solely on second-hand information that turned out to be a couple of days old. Perhaps these simple details could have prevented this change of plans from occurring, perhaps not. However, I do know that, had I been nitpicky with being prepared, I at least had the satisfaction of not having to waste pointing a finger at myself (not that that should be the main focus for situations like this of course).

Be Optimistic: Okay, so the evening wasn't going off as planned. Should we just head home? Absolutely not. The three of us - Matt, his mother, and I - recognized this as still an important event to our upcoming college visits on the East Coast, and even though the absence of Mr. Ramsey was unforeseen, we accepted the challenge of confronting the Princeton Admissions Officer alone and courageously asking, amidst other Faire goers' questions regarding the admissions process, our request to invite a Princeton representative for dinner on the 20th of July. We were unsure what to expect and we knew there was no guarantee of securing a dinner guest or two, but at least we were tackling our impromptu mission without hesitation and without dread.

Don't Waste Time: What better way to spend the 30 minute car ride than for Matt and I to bounce off our input on our reading so far? It proved to be very helpful and made me personally more open-minded

Go With the Flow: Waiting for Mr. Ramsey outside of El Cerrito High School took a toll on our otherwise impeccable timing. We arrived to the Pope John Paul II Student Center in the middle of the CAL Tech speech over an intimidating and packed audience. Calmly, we walked to vacant chairs near the back of the room and, "when in Rome, did what the Romans did". I took out my notepad and wrote the little information I obtained from the final moments of the CAL Tech speech (you can see all my summarized notes at the bottom) and took some photos. Luckily, we were here to speak very specifically to the Princeton Representative and hearing these college presentations were a nice supplement. There were four colleges represented at the Marin Catholic Faire - CAL Tech, Columbia, Princeton, and Rensselaer (again, notes for all four will be found near the bottom of this blog post).

A Good Leader Thinks of Others: "If you're not too fond of the maths and sciences, CAL Tech isn't really the place for you." the admissions officer for CAL Tech jokingly admitted. I know for myself that the life of an engineering or science major was not for me. So, why bother lifting up my pen during CAL Tech's remaining speech anyway? Why pay much attention to the fact that Engineering is Rensselaer's most popular college? I continued to take notes of everything because, as worthless as some of this information will be for me in the long run, they could be of the most interesting thing another person may get from my notepad of chicken-scratch notes. Once you start thinking "hey, this might be something so-and-so may like" or "wow, so-and-so should be here to see this", it will start to naturally become a habit, and a good one at that. However, simply thinking of others does only half the job; you also need to carry it through by letting who you thought of know. By making that simple connection, you've down a little good deed for you and a good deal for that individual. After hearing about all this talk about these four colleges' great Engineering program, I hope to pass this information on through my summarized notes below, in addition to telling some of my math wiz and science-minded friends when I see them again.

Thinking of the Future: Sometimes, as the admissions officers blazed through their ten-minute time frame of "why our school was the best and why you should go", I'd stumble on interesting things that they say or things I didn't really understand. However, rather than prepare myself to ask these questions by waiting in long lines after the speeches and forgetting our "mission" at hand, I underline everything I wanted to know more about and wrote reminders to myself on the side. I am saving my questions for the intimate, exclusive, and less hectic meeting with the Princeton and Columbia admissions officers when we see them in the East Coast. Not only will this probably give me more detailed answers, it will also give me plenty of time to think over what today's admissions officers said and formulate even more questions by the time of our campus tours this upcoming two weeks.

Learning From Others: We didn't have any questions to ask when the floor was open up for anyone to ask them, but again, that was no reason to give my pen a break. Although some of the questions asked among the crowd were those I've heard before and have received answers to before, hearing what these four colleges had to say continued to supplement what I already knew. There were also other rational questions that I didn't think too much about so, not only was I increasing current knowledge but also obtaining new ones as well. All of which too, were done with no effort on my part but from listening and being attentive to what others wanted answers to.

The Special Case when the Minority Have to be Respectful of the Majority: Matt and I were not like the others at the College Faire. Both of us had our questions about admissions and spirit for these schools bottled up for the actual tours later in the month; we were unlike the many parents and students suffocating the admission officers booth trying to have all our personal questions about a college answered on the spot. Thankfully, we were not in a rush to do anything later that evening (but read of course) and let the other Faire goers do their business first.

Dust Yourself Off Quickly and Improve: We did briefly talk with Mr. Alex Bustin, the assistant director of Princeton's Office of Admissions, in between two regular Faire goers and quickly regretted doing so. Upon reflection of our good but very rushed presentation to Mr. Bustin, Matt and I agreed to wait until everyone had cleared from the Princeton booth to clarify our request again but in a less stressful setting.

Don't be Aggressive; Be Understanding: Perhaps it was because Matt and I were not very believable characters to be asking an admissions officer so coolly about inviting one of their people for dinner. Either way, we made sure that, as discredited we may appear to represent the ILC at such an impromptu and brief, first meeting with Mr. Bustin, we laid down our request calmly and reasonably. Under brevity, we told him a bit about who were and what our program aimed to do. We told him that we were not sure if Princeton's policies even allowed admissions officers to have external get-togethers with prospecting students. Mr. Bustin, upon hearing us this second time, appeared more relaxed and focused. Although he wasn't sure how he personally could help us since this was honestly not his department, Matt and I did leave the Student Center with something. With my email that I gave Mr. Bustin, he plans to let Mr. Burkmar - Princeton's NorCal Representative - know of our plans and contact me in return. In addition, Mr. Bustin gave us his card so that, should we receive no word, we at least have a familiar person to email again for more information.

Get the Most of Every Experience: Although the mission was clear - try to get a Princeton-represented dinner guest from the Princeton admissions officer at the College Faire - I couldn't resist making the most of this College Faire by asking the Rensselaer admissions officer a little more about some of the things she said. Not only was seeing a representative from Rensselaer again rare but because I wasn't visiting their campus in the next two weeks, there was no reason not to ask now. And in case you were wondering, ILC, the prestigious Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute does offer summer programs for high school students - more information to be found on their website.

Appreciating Kindness: All of this was largely possible thanks to Mrs. Lee, who not only drove us despite being initially under the impression that Matt and I were joining another party and carpooling with them, but was also very patient with our "mission" at Marin Catholic. She also helped me take some of the photos you see here. In addition, she also treated us to a very delicious dinner at a local Japanese restaurant. Thank you Mrs. Lee for driving us to Marin Catholic and making this day very fun and memorable.

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Notes from the Marin Catholic College Faire

California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech):

• Not a good college for those who don’t really like math and science.
• Curriculum requirements: lots of math and science classes and a PE requirement.
• Humanities classes available to make students more well-rounded.
• Top-notch academic institutions.
• For students who have a passion for science and a yearning to find that friendly community of like-minded scientists.

For more, go to: www.caltech.edu/

Columbia University:

• The undergraduate population is small but they are “the heart of life”.
• Student life is “vibrant” as Columbians experience their education on the island of Manhattan and completely woven into the life and culture of NYC.
• Professors are intimate enough that you many undergraduates may also join them on research projects.
• NYC offers a heightened abundance of internships and professional opportunities that are not merely for summertime but year-round.
• Many students do not have class on Fridays, using that day to do internships or do research.
• Residential campus with on-campus housing for four years available if needed.
• Lots of student organizations, from political to art to political to etc.
• When applying to Columbia, you must decide whether you plan to join Columbia College or the School of Engineering.
• Columbia College: The purpose of this school’s core curriculum is to build critical/analytical skills, improve writing skills, and enhance debate skills. Among some of the classes students take for the core curriculum include those in the humanities, literature, art, writing, and foreign language. There are 82 majors to choose from.
• School of Engineering: Students in this school have an abbreviated version of the core curriculum and take many pre-professional courses. There are 17 majors available, in addition to an option for liberal arts minors.
• Fun Fact: Students at Columbia College must pass a Swimming Test. Back when Columbia was known as King’s College and students wanted to rename it to remove this institutions affiliation with the British Empire, someone declared that students must learn to swim across the Hudson in case they had to escape from Manhattan Island to safety. This tradition carried on (but thankfully, no longer on the dirt Hudson). Engineering students do NOT have to take this test because their previous alumni had successfully argued a long time ago that engineers could simply built a catapult or other inventions to get across the Hudson . Thus, today’s engineering students in Columbia must pass a different test that isn’t swimming.

For more, go to: www.columbia.edu/

Princeton University:

• There are about 5,000 undergraduates.
• A major factor of Princeton is the mandatory “Senior Thesis” – an independent research project that is a graduation requirement. It can take the place of a usual essay but could also be anything from a novel to a constructed item, as long as it represents work led by a student’s desire to become an expert on a certain topic.
• Students have until the end of their sophomore year to declare their major (though most Engineering students do so earlier).
• There is a strong liberal arts-based curriculum.
• Fun Fact: Roughly 70% of students change their minds before they declare their major.
• No double majors.
• Princeton students take pride in not only being academic scholars but also active members in their community.
• Four years of on-campus housing provided if needed.

For more, go to: www.princeton.edu/

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute:

• Location is very close to an airport.
• A green campus with lots of trees – not your typical urban setting.
• Medium-size college with about 15,000 undergraduates.
• Not a “suitcase campus” – a college where students regularly leave for weekends/holidays.
• 40% of students live on campus.
• Organizations are student-run and very easy for students to start their own clubs.
• 200+ clubs currently at Rensselaer.
• Retention rate: 92% (The national average is 75% and the average for NY is 72%).
• Schools: Humanities, Management, Architecture, Engineering (most popular), Sciences.
• Flexible schedules that make it possible for students to complete 2 majors under one financial package.
• Common theme among Rensselaer students: an interest in science, technology, and engineering.
• “interdisciplinary”

For more, go to: www.rpi.edu/

A Quick Break from Reading

When people ask me what I have planned this summer, I often sheepishly but happily respond with: "a summer course at Yale University". As ambiguous as that statement may be for some, it's just become a habit of mine to avoid revealing the whole story all in one statement - a habit, I'm sure, that's originated from my general writing style. I usually never include that the course I was taking was about leadership unless I was asked to elaborate further. This tactic serves as a good indicator for conversations. Don't be too mysterious and abrupt that you seem uninviting and disinterested in what the person before you is asking but do provide just enough that so that they do follow up with more questions. This is how you know they are at least somewhat interested in what you're saying.

But back to the subject at hand, a class that revolves around the development of great leaders continue to fascinate me with sketicism. There is no doubt that the education I will obtain from Yale will be more than I could have ever duplicated from my past experiences and memories in classrooms back here in Pinole and even from my political philosophy class at Cornell last summer. However, it's the idea of teaching leadership that intrigues me the most.

The definition of a good leader is purely subjective. In most cases, one's capability to lead well is determined not immediately by what one can do in the present but by what one has done - observing such aspects as this individual's impact on his/her community and/or how well the people around him/her responds to his/her actions. With a love for English and Art, I welcome subjective topics. There is never a definite, right or wrong answer as long as you can be good at defending your opinions and persuading others to see your point-of-view as an idea worth considering. (My poor analytic friends who'd rather sit in math or science classes would playfully roll their eyes at me if they had to sit through another one of my random bursts of insight on the flexible views on art and/or the intriguing interpretations of an author's purpose).

However, as advantageous as subjective topics can be for some, there is another important aspect to them: learning to accept the opinions of others even if you do not agree with them. Defining a good leader is no exception. Just take a look back in history and the people around you; already you can start to distinguish how one embodies the very characteristics he/she feels is necessary to lead successfully. Plato shunned democracy - the people's ability to govern themselves - and envisioned individuals he called philosopher kings to rule the Utopian world he believed would best serve the Greek city-states of his time. Under divine law, the beginnings of medieval society didn't dare consider the legitimacy of their monarch's authority. And who could forget The Communist Manifesto (1848) - a book of one person's opinion strong enough to withstand the eras that would follow and continue to inspire even people today? There is no one, correct definition of a good leader, but several, infinite definitions, all with a varied amount of people who accept them. Those who observe leaders and derive their particular methods and behaviors can only take that knowledge and mold it with their own reasoning to produce a plausible definition of what being a good leader means to them. Those who become a leader should be open-minded to the varied methods of good leadership and, in addition, utilize such knowledge wisely with one's own sense of leadership when time calls for one's direction and guidance.

These are only a few of the things I've been thinking about in between and during my readings. Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi was the first of many YISP books that I read since I obtained their reading list. It was a good first choice (though I'm sure any book from the list would've been just as good considering how much I've generally enjoyed all my reading so far). For someone like me, it's easy to relate to Ferrazzi who also grew up in a hardworking family that strove to merely live comfortably, not luxuriously. Therefore, reading his rise to success felt like a fairytale - sort of.

It was really a guide to becoming successful in, specifically, the business world - Ferrazzi style. However, if business-minded people was all whom this book was meant for, than I highly doubt the YISP would dare let this book slip into their reading list again. For a motif one will always encounter while reading the books on the YISP reading list is that, no matter the setting or topic, the material each book teaches is very flexible as long as you remain open-minded. I cannot even tell you how often I've stopped abruptly while reading Never Eat Alone and thinking of how eerie it all was that the very things Ferrazzi was stressing were very similar to how the Ivy League Connection runs and operates - tight networking and making, well, connections.

According to Ferrazzi, a successful leader of the 21st century must depend on people now more than ever. Therefore, utilize technology. Consider the needs of all the people around you - be they the new intern or the CEO at the top - and never discriminate. Be fearless in taking risks if your gut tells you its an opportunity to achieve something great and be quick and optimistic to bounce back if your expectations are not met. Make connections and keep up with them because there's nothing more important to a successful leader, and a business leader especially, than networking.

Cyrus the Great was a good second choice in that it was a distinct contrast from the contemporary world of business and technology. Cyrus's world was the beginnings of the Persian Empire, the time around 600 B.C. However, as long ago as his legacy may have been, the leadership of Cyrus the Great is truly timeless and worth remembering. While reading of this benevolent and effective leader, I wonder why more of today's leaders are not adopting the methods of Cyrus. Surely, Cyrus the Great was fortunate enough to have grown up with a very influential father that ensured his son's moral goodness, but a gracious background alone does not solely determine one's leadership capabilities in the future. (Several of the female CEOs I met while at a Leadership Summit grew up with divorced parents and, as they looked back on this during their presentations, acknowledged that that very aspect of their lives only gave them more strength and motivation to achieve an even better future for themselves). Many of the clan leaders that encounter Cyrus the Great later on in the book remark at his kindness and wished they had only adopted his methods earlier on in their lives.

Of course, not all the suggestions made by Cyrus the Great could fully benefit President Obama's decision making, simply because they're two different times and two different circumstances. The center of Cyrus's life was his army, the war against the Median Empire, and later, his role as the King of Persia. The center of President Obama's life is that of a typical American and oh, that's right, in addition to his job of leading the American country and people - an overwhelming task that's surely more than what Cyrus the Great had ever encountered throughout his life. Yet, I cannot restate again just how little one can obtain from all this reading if one treated the material that literally. Cyrus the Great's idea of securing the good graces of all those around him is reminiscent to the ideas of Ferrazzi.

Establish a good network with the people around you, disregarding their social status. Never let over-confidence and personal ambition cloud your current objectives at hand. Be benevolent. Reward your people before you reward yourself.

Currently, I am reading The Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan, a contemporary account to the famous war that forever changed the world of Ancient Greece and prevented the ideals of Democracy from continuing until it was given a new place to grow and thrive - the young country of the United States of America.

Yes, the reading is stressful and I'd be lying if I said there were no boring parts. However, I am fortunate that generally, what the texts have to offer is both very fascinating and intriguing. There are moments when I wish I was outside having summertime adventures with my friends or spending the little time I can with my two cousins from Hong Kong, who, by the way, are staying over for 2 weeks at my house.

Having them around is great but can also be very distracting. Every day there's some restaurant to eat at or some place to go. Sometimes, it gets hard to have to decline almost every single invite presented to you but I remind myself that the YISP, as short-lived as it will be on the time line of my summer this year, will be the highlight of my summer.

I remind myself that I should not treat these readings as merely requirements for the class but good knowledge in general - what better way to finish your senior year than to do so strongly with a whole summer's worth of knowledge on being a good leader? And what better way to go through college with all this insight as well? You should always treat everything you do as a learning opportunity; don't let anything be a waste of time even if that's what they appear on the surface. My fellow peers continuously ask me how I do well in school. It's not because I'm a genius (I wouldn't even say I was that smart). It's because I continue to work hard, never give up, and most importantly in high school: pay attention. Learning only stops the moment you step out of a classroom if you choose to stop learning when you pass the threshold. Do yourself a favor and continue to be open-minded.

PS: Reading my fellow cohorts' blogs on their experiences at Brown and Columbia does make me more excited than ever to start the YISP program but not enough that I'm ready to go next week. (I'm still quite nervous about what to expect there!)

Show Me The Money!

You have the brightest child in the neighborhood and everyone knows it.  Any university in the country would be lucky to have your child.  Without exception, though, all of the top flight schools cost a fortune to attend.  We’re not talking about new car kind of money.  We’re talking about the kind of money to buy a decent house—the kind where you have to keep paying for it forever and ever.  The kind f money it takes a regular working family decades to prepare for.

What are you going to do?  You make decent money—at least enough to keep the rest of your family living comfortably—but it’s not really enough to keep them living comfortably and leave enough to pay for that college education.  The cost of living here in the Bay Area eats up most of your paycheck—when you get a paycheck—and leaves little to sock away to pay for a decent education for your children.

You and your child could take out loans to pay for that top flight education but what kind of life would that be for your child to graduate owing almost as much as the National Debt?

Your child could get a job but what kind of money could an 18 year old make before acquiring the skills that the college education will help provide?

What’s a parent to do?  How are you supposed to take care of your family and provide them with a quality education—the kind of education that will open the right doors once your child has that sheepskin firmly in her grasp?

What are you supposed to do?  You’re supposed to turn to The Ivy League Connection’s very own Sue Kim—a professional educational consultant specializing in admissions and financial aid counseling since 1991.

Sue has helped many dozens of ILC students and others from the WCCUSD find the perfect fit of a college and then find a means to pay for that education.  She knows what she’s doing and she’s good at it.

On Thursday June 16^th Sue hosted 39 ILC and WCCUSD students and parents in a financial aid workshop where she helped point the way for the parents to find ways for other people to pay for the education of their children.

Between grants, scholarships, gifts and other options that may be available to the students and parents in our area, more and more of our students have opportunities to attend better schools than they might otherwise have been considering.

Sue explained that although California has an outstanding 10 campus University of California and a 23 campus state university system, both systems have little money to offer students in the way of financial assistance.  The cost to attend these schools is prohibitively expensive and the costs are steadily rising.

On the other hand, there are numerous private colleges spread throughout the country that have large endowments designed to help the very kinds of students we seem to have an abundance of: smart but needy.

Tonight’s session was only a primer but it laid the foundation so parents and students can start their preparations.  Once their students enter their senior year of high school, the college application process becomes a full time job requiring a tremendous amount of dedication and attention to detail.  There are openings at these schools and there is money to be had but if our students and their parents don’t do the necessary homework and prepare themselves, those opportunities may go elsewhere.  We want everyone around the world to have the option of getting a top education but if there are limited funds and limited openings, then we’d rather that our people be taken care of first.  Call it selfish if you will—and you’d be right—but such is life.