From the Mother of Yessenia Reyna

Hacer Cosas Yo No Pude Hacer; To Do Things I Was Never Able To Do

I remember that cold winter day when my daughter came to me with this incredulous idea. She told me about this program called the Ivy League Connection where they send students to study over at the east coast for the summer. It sounded really nice and all, but I wasn’t too trusting of the whole thing. How could I possibly trust them with my eldest daughter for a whole month? I was about to not let her do this when I realized how great this opportunity could be for my daughter. In the end, I didn’t want to take this amazing opportunity away and stop her from moving forward. Although I was still worried, I agreed to allow my daughter to try and do these things I was never able to do as a teenager. Once she told me she got accepted, my heart filled with so much joy. All the hard work she put in those essays and interview finally paid off and now she would be leaving for an entire month to go to Nashville.

Before she actually left however, the ILC had this plan to let me get more familiar with the people involved, which would help me trust them more. They had several meetings I attended which showed me exactly what would be happening during those 4 weeks. Everyone kindly explained this to me in detail and in a way a worried mother would understand. I also got to meet and talk to my daughter’s chaperone during one of these meetings. At first I was a little surprised to see how many tattoos he had on his arms, but after meeting with him and talking with him several times, I could see that he was the best chaperone possible, and I really wouldn’t have asked for a better one.

Finally, the time came for her departure. Seeing her leave, it really felt as if she was leaving for a year of college. You could say that it prepared me for what is to come in a few years. Overall, this program has made me become more open to letting my daughter leave home. Even though the idea of your first child leaving home scares most mothers like me, I know that this is what life is about. Your child needs to experience life for themselves when they go off to college.

I would like to take the time to thank the Ivy League Connection for all that they have done for my daughter. Thanks to the ILC, I have finally opened my eyes to see the wonderful opportunities that are out there for her and a bunch of other students as well. Even now, it is still hard to imagine a program like this exists for the students of this district. It is absolutely amazing to think of how much work is put into this program and I hope it grows from here.

Thank you,

Dora Reyna