IVY LEAGUE CONNECTION
GIVES LOCAL YOUTH AN ACADEMIC EDGE
Richmond Confidential
November 2, 2011
Ivy League
schools are known worldwide for their prestige, academic rigor and exclusive
admissions. The Ivy League Connection funds trips to Ivy
League summer enrichment programs to create that college-going academic culture
in Richmond.
Last Thursday,
the ILC hosted a private dinner with Elizabeth Hart, the director of minority
outreach at Brown
University.
“If we’re going
to be a democracy we really need to give a voice to all segments of our
society,” Hart said. “I really think education is the path for all communities
to have a voice.”
 |
| Richmond High School sophomores, Brittany Ferguson, Naxhlleli Ramirez, Elizabeth Alonzo, Julie Le (front, from left to right) and Marco Hernandez (back left) pose with Richmond High School counselor JP De Oliveira at Ivy League Connection dinner. |
The ILC was
founded in 2006 by Board of Education members Charles Ramsey and Madeline
Kronenberg. The idea was to promote a “college-going culture” among students in
the district. The innovative approach allows teacher and counselors to
recommend students for the highly selective program. Then the student
interviews for a spot.
“This program
started with six kids, now we have hundreds,” Board of Education President
Charles Ramsey said.
Students
who are accepted into the ILC have their grades monitored, attend mandatory
group meetings and have exclusive access to university admission staff like
Hart.
“It’s really
beneficial for Richmond High kids to have the opportunity to be in a program
like this because of the reputation of our school,” Richmond High sophomore
Brittany Ferguson said.
 |
| Brown University's Director of Minority Recruitment, Elizabeth Hart answers questions from Ivy League Connection students at a private dinner. |
This year, 35
students from the ILC spent the summer studying at Ivy League institutions.
Each student is still responsible for applying to the summer course and must be
independently accepted by the university. The six that went to Columbia
took a course on constitutional law or presidential power but each school
offers different courses.
ILC spends an
average of $9,000 per student on course fees, flights, food and lodging. The
student only needs money for extra spending cash.
“Ninety percent
is privately financed from labor unions, contractors, engineering firms,
architects and private donations,” ILC administrator Don Gosney said. “The
other 10 percent is paid for by the district, but only covers sending district
employees as chaperones.”
Attending summer
sessions gives students an extra experience to put in their college
application. Meeting professors and getting a feel for a campus helps students
understand if a school is really right for them.
All of the
students in ILC are smart but before joining the ILC many of them had never
considered applying to schools outside of the University of California system.
“They [ILC
administrators] know how the applications work and have a lot of resources to
help students,” said Richmond High sophomore Marco Hernandez.
They also help
parents understand Ivy League opportunities.
Before Irene Rojas-Carroll graduated from El
Cerrito High and was accepted to Brown, her mother, Leah Carroll, found support
in the ILC.
“They hired this
private counselor, she usually works with rich kids but they got her to come in
and talk to all the Ivy League Connection,” Leah Carroll said. “She had this
binder that was laid out in a color coded, rational, chronological order, with
a little touch of humor. She just really de-stressed the process.”
Each year the
program gains momentum and more students are nominated.
“The
idea is not to send 30 kids a year to summer programs,” Board of Education
clerk Madeline Kronenberg said. “It’s to create a college-going culture.”
Ivy League Facts
- The 8 Ivy League schools are Brown (RI), Columbia (NY), Cornell (NY), Dartmouth (NH), Harvard (MA), The University of Pennsylvania (PA), Princeton (NJ) and Yale (CT).
- The term 'Ivy League' originally referred to the athletic conference, ironically none of them offer athletic scholarships.
- The Ivies are among the nation's oldest schools. Cornell is the youngest and was founded in 1865.
Guadalupe Morales was part of the ILC. She graduated
from Richmond High last spring and started at Brown in the fall.
Click the link to see a video about her.
Click the link to see a video about her.
