Dual Departure: Vanderbilt Followed by Chicago

While it’s not all that uncommon to have two cohorts depart at the same time (as Cornell and Brown did two weeks back), today’s departure of Chicago and Vanderbilt were different in that Vanderbilt had to be in front of El Cerrito HS at 2:45 AM while Chicago had a chance to sleep in and gather in the bright of the day at 9:45 AM.

Not so bad for them but for the person who had to see them off (me), it made for a long day.

This was one of those days when the sun never really came out.  It was overcast and foggy.  Even the temperature was quirky.  The temp for Vanderbilt was a mild 54º and Chicago had risen to 59º.  Between the moisture in the fog and the wind, though, it felt much colder.  I had to dig through some piles to find some long pants and even wore a jacket.  I was almost unrecognizable to the ILCers who mostly see me in aloha shirts, shorts and sandals.

With both groups they went through the normal routine of weigh ins, pep talks, blogging instructions and the loading up of snacks so they don;t starve to death before they get to their first stop destinations (Atlanta for the Vanderbilt cohort and St. Louis for the Chicago group).

And, of course, the requisite group photos for the archives:

Vanderbilt

UChicago

Penn Heads East

The four member Penn cohort gathered in the wee hours at El Cerrito High School to go through the Pre-Departure process of affixing luggage tags, having their luggage weighed, loading up on snacks for their journey, getting hard copies of their itinerary and being reminded about what’s being expected of them.  Business as usual.

The airport shuttle arrived even before the ILCers so while the cohort was having their photos taken, their luggage was being loaded.

At 4:23 their parents had had their fill of last minute details, the goodbyes were brief and before we knew it the shuttle taillights were all that was left of the Penn cohort.

Before starting their coursework at the Academy of Social Justice, they’ll be dining with newly graduated ILC alum Dyana So who will be starting as an admission counselor for Penn, they’ll take an official site tour/visit of Penn before heading to Manhattan for a visit of Columbia and another trip down to Washington, D.C. for a site visit of Georgetown.  They all, of course, take in the sights while there.

And, with Independence Day just a few days away, how cool is it for the Penn cohort to celebrate where the Declaration of Independence was signed?

Cornell & Brown Depart

At 2:50 AM (give or take), the Brown Women & Leadership cohort gathered with the Cornell cohort in front of El Cerrito High School to get their last minute instructions before heading East as ambassadors for their schools, their District and their community.

The ILCers and their parents were handed Final Itineraries, their luggage

was weighed, luggage tags were distributed and affixed and ILC Administrator Don Gosney praised them all for getting this far.  It’s been a long six month process but their time has arrived.

Knowing that this will be a lengthy day with minimal stops for sustenance, the IlC provided a wealth of snack options--with most actually being healthy.  The ILCers were quizzed as to what types of snacks they preferred (their sweet tooth options were, for the most part, set aside for healthier options).

Once the snacks were stowed the obligatory photos were snapped and promptly at 4 AM the airport shuttle arrived.  Their gear was stowed and soon the shuttle taillights dimmed in the distance.  The rest is up to them.

Enjoy the snapshots.

Many of the items necessary for the trip: an assortment of Zip-Lock bags, luggage tags, itineraries, contact info
cards, ID badge lanyards

A wide variety of healthy snacks were offered (along with the life sustaining red vines)

The Cornell cohort

The Brown Women & Leadership Cohort

How long do they think they’re going to be away from home?