Guadalupe Morales is Bound for Brown

RICHMOND HIGH STUDENT GUADALUPE MORALES IS IVY LEAGUE BOUND

Richmond Confidential

Ashley Hopkinson

02/11/11

Guadalupe Morales knows what people think when they hear the words “Richmond High School.” They think of poverty, crime, low-test scores and of a horrific gang rape that still blemishes the school’s image one year later.

But despite what people think, and despite disconcerting statistics about the number of Latinas who graduate high school and college into professional careers, Morales is determined to make a life for herself after Richmond High School.

Don’t feel sorry for her, she insists: This fall she is going to college. The 17-year-old senior will attend Brown University, an Ivy League school, on a full scholarship.

As she makes her way down the hallway of RHS, Morales is the subject of stares and questions. “Hey Guadalupe, what are the cameras doing here?” And “Hey, Guadalupe are you going to be on TV?”

In a brown-colored sweatshirt lettered with the words BROWN UNIVERSITY in bold, she doesn’t stop to answer. She smiles brightly but averts her gaze.

Morales will graduate June 19 at 9 a.m. It’s a date she’s been working toward for a long time. RHS is the last school in the West Contra Costa district to graduate because of its academic performance, Morales says casually on the way to her locker.

In fact, the school’s graduation rate is only 77.1 percent—four percentage points higher than the district average—according to the California Department of Education. The dropout rate in the district is 22 percent and RHS is almost double that averaging 46 to 47 percent.

Morales plans to study neuroscience; she wants to become a doctor. “The whole aspect of being a doctor is helping other people,” she said. “I like that. I feel like it’s natural to me. It’s also a way to prove something to myself. If I can make it as a doctor then I know all my hard work that got me to this point was worth it.”

Her academic achievements are a source of pride for counselors and educators across the school. As one faculty member put it: “She is a teacher’s dream.”

Guadalupe Morales in a hallway of Richmond High School. Morales said she never dreamed four years ago that she'd be going to a prestigious Ivy League school like Brown University.

Photo by Ashley Hopkinson.

Morales doesn’t quite see it that way. She acknowledges working hard, but said she can’t imagine working any other way. “My mom has always had a high expectation of me and seeing her work all those jobs taught me never to give up and to stay persistent,” she said.

In her essays that she wrote for Brown, Morales was asked to pick something that defines her and she chose the traditional Mexican dish tamales. Her parents are both from Mexico. They immigrated to the United States 22 years ago.

For Morales the tamale is a metaphor for her life — on the outside it may seem like a typical Mexican dish, but inside there’s always something unique. She recalled a period in her childhood when she perfected the art of making tamales, helping her mother make them to sell.

Her family faced some tough circumstances, but they did not break her and she is stronger because of it, she said. Her family moved often, ten times so far, she said. And once, they were evicted, she said, smile fading.

“It’s hard to keep a house because my mom has worked so many jobs. Sometimes you get a lower-paying job and can’t make the rent,” she said. “For a couple a days I felt pitiful, but I got the realization fast not to feel sorry for myself because you can overcome obstacles and do something about it.”

It’s easy to think, “Oh I live in the ghetto, I go to a crappy place like Richmond High,” she said, “but even though it’s like that I will work hard and even though I have impediments to my success I can overcome and do better than if I was going to a richer school.”

There have been times, she admits, that she’s wanted to be somewhere else, at a school where every resource is at a student’s disposal. “I’ve thought about it at times, but I like being at Richmond High,” she said. “The people that are there genuinely care for you. The teachers that are there are really there because they want and you get a sense early on who the teachers are that care about you and how well you do.”

Guadalupe Morales will attend Brown University starting in the fall of 2011.

Photo by Ashley Hopkinson.

Jean Pierre De Oliveira is one of five counselors at Richmond High School. Each has an average caseload of 400 to 500 students, and De Oliveira says they work at their jobs because they love helping students.

Still, he said, the outside socials ills seep through the walls of the school, and sometimes that makes the job more difficult. “We serve a demanding and needy community,” he said. “A lot of our kids come from homes of violence homes on welfare tough environment. … Sometimes kids come to me and they have eight problems and you have to decide which one to help them with before you can help them academically.

Eighty percent of the RHS high school population is listed as socioeconomically disadvantaged on official school accountability reports.

De Oliveira said teachers know that a student’s life circumstances affect academic performance and it makes his job easier and more joyous when one of his students, like Morales, succeeds despite life’s challenges.

“With Guadalupe getting into Brown, this just makes my day,” he said.

Plopping down on the floor between three closed classrooms doors to take a pre-approved break in between classes, Morales relaxes. Now away from the curious glances, she is at ease. She bursts into a smile, fussing with her long dark brown hair.

Morales’ first experience with studying at Brown actually happened last summer, when she participated in the Ivy League Connection Program, a privately funded scholarship organization that works closely with the West Contra Costa Unified District to sponsor a group of students to visit and study at Ivy Leagues for the summer.

The qualifications to apply are demanding: a GPA of 3.7 or above, a PSAT score of 140 or above and an SAT score of 1700 or above. The program requires an essay in addition to the academic requirements. Eighteen Richmond High Students met the qualifications to apply out of approximately 400, and seven finalists were chosen from the entire district. Of these, three Richmond High students were chosen to participate in a Brown program called 2010 Women in Leadership. With 11 AP classes under her belt and a 4.27 GPA, Guadalupe Morales was one of them.

Still, Morales didn’t know she’d been accepted to the full college program until mid-December. She recalls opening her acceptance letter in the middle of her afternoon multimedia class. “I was completely surprised and amazed,” she said. “I couldn’t really comprehend at first. It didn’t connect. But then I was really happy.”

In her blog she started keeping over the summer about her experience at Brown, Morales wrote: “I’m still amazed at what wonderful news I received just last Monday. Four years ago, I never thought that I would be attending one of the most prestigious universities in the world, much less, qualify for one. I suppose it’s the Richmond High mentality, the one where the dream school for everyone is U.C. Berkeley, and the only one. There’s nothing wrong with that—Berkeley is a great school. However, in these past couple of months, I’ve learned that there are more opportunities beyond what is here in California.”

She made the decision to attend right away.

Krista Jann, Richmond High’s college and career coordinator who has worked at the school for more than a decade, is equally happy. Jann said Morales has mastered a concept faculty needs to teach students—the ability to compartmentalize. They urge them to not forget their problems, but focus on getting an education despite them, she said.

As for Morales, “she has what it takes” to succeed, Jann said.

Jann is the RHS liaison for the Ivy League Connection Program, and she points out that even though 18 students qualified, few applied. Morales said motivation is lacking for some students. “There are supportive people here to help you but it’s really up to you to make a difference,” she said.

“You have to deal with your peers who are going down different paths and it motivates you to be an example to younger students to show them they don’t do the same thing,” she said.

Morales said that her parents are happy about her success, “but mostly I could tell they were scared that I would go so far.” Brown University is located in Providence, Rhode Island.

A few minutes before the bell rings Morales heads off to class.

“This is like the American dream,” she said. “I feel amazed. Even though I’ve come out of Richmond, all of us at Richmond can come through difficult circumstances and be successful.”

Our Yalies Depart

It was dark outside.  It was also chilly with a wind that helped the chill slice right through us. But then again it was 4:30 in the morning so why should we expect anything different?

Our Yale Ivy Scholars—Marisol Clemens, Brandon Amargo, Henry Hung and Connor Miller—gathered at El Cerrito High School with their chaperone Mario Miranda to board the airport shuttle that will begin their journey to New Haven, Connecticut where they will spend the next several days visiting Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University and Dartmouth University.

Accompanying them on this initial phase of the journey were ILC administrators Madeline Kronenberg and Charles Ramsey.

Before boarding the airport shuttle, our scholars went through the Gosney Bazaar where they could pick from baskets of umbrellas, laundry bags, computer cables, laptop security cables, Ethernet cables and even alarm clocks—all just to make sure they had what they needed to survive the next three weeks at Yale.

Fond farewells were said with the obligatory hugs from the parents and then the requisite group photo was taken before they headed east to seek knowledge that will turn them from mere high school students into future pillars of our community.

Studying Grand Strategy under Dr. Dr. Minh Luong, they will cram a full year’s study into just fourteen days.  Attending class from dawn to well past dusk, they will then be allowed to return to their dorm rooms to read a few hundred pages, prepare their Marshall Brief and study some more—and some more—and some more.

Our four Ivy Scholars will depart well prepared for this course having already read the 3,749 pages of material that will be studied and discussed.  Books about the Peloponnesian War, Homeland Security, Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese and Greeks, Genghis Khan as well as the inimitable Cyrus the Great will ready our adventurous students for this course.  (The book on Cyrus the Great has been said to be one of the best books ever written and one of our Yalies has already vowed to read it to his future children as bedtime reading.)

Students from previous years have written about this program. They write that our Yalies will be swamped with their studies and be given instruction from some of the greatest minds in their respective fields. From across the nation, though, previous Ivy Scholars have lamented that they would give anything for just another hour’s sleep.  I’m sure that when our Yalies return they may likely add to that chorus.

We wish our Yalies well.

Cornellians TRY to get to Ithaca

June 23^rd, 2010

Packed to the gills for their 24 day adventure in Ithaca our Cornell cohorts met at El Cerrito HS early on June 23rd where they had their baggage weighed, received their laptop security cables, took a solemn oath to blog every day and then hopped on their airport shuttle to take them on the first leg of their adventure at Cornell.

Studying under Professor Kramnick in his course: Freedom & Justice: An Introduction to Political Philosophy are Alex Elms, Andrew Gonzales, Andrew Woo and Dyana So.  Across campus Jacky Lares, Beilul and Chris Habash will study under Professors Reneta and Mark McCarthy in the course: Hotel Operations Management: Tactics for Profitability.  Both of these courses are rigorous endeavors but the education learned there has, in the past, been invaluable tools for our ILC team members.

Although their collective travel plans were well mapped out there was little they could do when Chicago's O'Hare Airport was shut down due to extreme weather conditions.  There just seems to be something about aircraft and tornados (with lightning) that aren't a good mix.

The Cornell contingent spent their first night in a variety of airport lounges as they were moved from gate to gate and had the opportunity to enjoy some of the finest cuisine available in late night airport eateries before their flight was finally cancelled.

Along for the ride, ILC Administrator Charles Ramsey had to scramble to find an alternative means of getting to Ithaca in the shortest amount of time.  Their current plans--always subject to change--now includes a flight to Hanford, CT where they may then enjoy a four hour van ride to Ithaca.

We wish them well.

From Far and Wide They Head to Columbia

June 24^th, 2010

The weather was cool, breezy and overcast but their spirits were high as our six ILC ambassadors prepared to depart for Columbia University. 

Michael Whittemore and Jamie Pines will study in Intense Seminars in Modern Chemistry while Michelle Saechao, Beulah Agbabiaka, Yueming Wang and Winston Long will study American Presidential Power at Home and Abroad: From George Washington to Barack Obama.

Guiding them through their studies will be their chaperone Ms. Terri Ishmael.

While in the area our Columbian cohorts will also be visiting other selective colleges and universities such as Penn, Vassar, Yale and Bard.

Once our team has soaked up all there is to learn they will be returning to the Bay Area on July 17th where they will prepare to share their newfound wealth of knowledge with students, parents and instructors throughout the community.

A Mother's Perspective

Melissa Arciniega

Now that Matt is beginning to pack up and head for Columbia University, I often find myself reflecting on the past eighteen years. There are so very many incredible memories in this young man's life already and I'm feeling very blessed and thankful for the person Matt has become and the direction his life is taking.

The Ivy League Connection has played a huge role in sending Matt in the direction of Columbia University. His two weeks at Yale last summer gave him the chance to prove to himself and others that he, indeed, can compete among some of the best and the brightest students in the world! 

Often times, students from the WCCUSD are afraid to dream big or don't know how big, big can be. Because of you, Ms. Kronenberg, Mr. Gosney, and the many individuals who run and fund the Ivy League Connection, Matt is about to attend a world-class university in preparation for a career in public policy and politics.

From a very special place in my heart, I thank you and the ILC for showing these kids how big dreams can be.  The world WILL be changed because of your mark on their lives!

A Father's Perspective

Felix Pelayo

The Ivy League Connection has greatly benefited my daughter, Cristina Pelayo. Before her trip to the East Coast, I only knew about various universities throughout California, and I only thought that was where she would apply. Sending her off to Columbia University, she experienced a setting different from public universities on the West Coast. While she was in Columbia, one weekend she visited the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I had never heard of the school, and when she told me her impression of it, I myself realized that I didn't know about this great institution with so many different class choices in smaller classroom settings. When she came back from New York, I was surprised to see that she applied to more private universities than public universities, and four of them were out of state. I encouraged her to apply wherever she wanted because I knew it would ultimately be her choice to choose where to go.

When Spring rolled around and acceptance decisions came out, I was kind of surprised to hear that she got accepted into most of the places she applied. She couldn't make a choice but she narrowed it down to two choices, the University of Pennsylvania and UC Berkeley. The Ivy League Connection was nice enough to fly us out to Philadelphia for a preview weekend to get a final impression of the school, and I think that is what sealed the deal. Cristina submitted her intent to register to Penn, and I knew I ultimately had to support her. Even though it is far away, being far from home will allow her to grow up and experience new things.

Without the Ivy League Connection making her visit other colleges and helping her with applications and financial aid, she would not have found the school she will be attending in the fall. The Ivy League Connection is really about connecting. Sometimes students and parents like myself aren't aware of the many opportunities that are available for them. The ILC has gotten many more students talking about different universities outside of California, and it's important to let them know they have choices. I'm grateful for the ILC because it has helped my daughter attend her dream school she didn't know existed before.

Bulldog Pursuits

This fall, our daughter Yohanna is set to embark on a rigorous collegiate “bulldog” pursuit in gothic spires at Yale.

There’s absolutely no doubt that the ILC paved the way. It came to fruition because she did her part as an enthusiastic WCCUSD student since kindergarten, but her ILC Yale experience in her junior year stoked her will and intellectual curiosity to brave new and challenging frontiers. A good education is the most important gift children can have as they take the steps into adulthood. Needless to say, parents are the natural advocates for children to attain that. Luckily, our district has the ILC that nurtures and supports motivated students’ educational aspirations. The ILC consists of the benevolence of the esteemed sponsors, support of the WCCUSD staff and the unceasing labors of Charles Ramsey, Madeline Kronenberg and Don Gosney.

 Stationary Engineers Local 39 Scholarship Awards Dinner

The ILC participants are fortunate students put to the test and awarded full ride summer courses to experience academic rigor, and as a result aspire an Ivy League education to be with the best and the brightest. The required activities (often scrumptious), accouterments, and experiences teach them ethics in the professional world and in being mindful that no one makes it on his/her own. They carry with them the pride and hopes of their family and community.

The ILC opens excellent academic opportunities for eager students, such as to be on equal footing with the more affluent communities in vying for spots at prestigious universities. With the ILC creating a college landscape is such a blessing to our school district. Encouraging students in our high schools to be the best they can be, will send ripples of successes. If allowed to flourish, those ripples become waves which powerfully help to transform and build a brighter future for the community.

We are in awe that from our little known community, our daughter will be a smidgen part of something big and special as Yale. Thank you to everyone involved in her journey and for your confidence in her. We are forever grateful for the amazing opportunity.

Our heartfelt wishes for the continued success of ILC,

Eric and Youra Pepa

From Brown University

From Kiana Ward

El Cerrito High School '09

Brown University
Women and Leadership '08

After a year in college I've realized that I have unknowingly begun to make the transition into adulthood. It's scary and hard but also liberating. I have learned a lot this year and although the academics were part of that, the most valuable lessons were ones I learned simply because I am now IN college. Things like networking, handling school fees, and arranging travel plans were frustrating at times but invaluable for the future.

The transition from high school to college classes was drastic... especially at Brown where there are no GE requirements. It was odd to be in a class and know that the only reason I was there was because I had chosen to be. There was no one to complain to when I was struggling with calculus problem sets because I knew that I had brought it on myself. If I didn't go to class, the professors didn't care but I knew that I was wasting my own money. I had to learn a new type of self-motivation, the kind where if I wasn't working my hardest, the only person I was letting down was myself. There were no teachers or parents to watch over me. So I powered through economics and the plus-que-parfait form of the French subjunctive and realized that when you study that hard...when you learn simply because you want to and you are interested in the subject... you can actually learn a language. You can actually see tangible improvement. There were times when, as I was studying for a final or reading a textbook, I swore that I could actually feel my brain growing.

I, like Jennifer, was extremely intimidated by the intellect and drive of the student body on my campus. Everyone I spoke to had done something amazing or seemed like an absolute genius. After awhile however, I began to realize that I could keep up with these students. Yes, I may have had to work harder than my roommate who was writing 20 page research papers in high school, but I was raising my hand in lectures and actually answering correctly. I would talk to people and say, "I have absolutely no idea how I got in here" and almost always got the response, "me either!" It became apparent that everyone was in the same boat: no one really understood how they got in and everyone had their doubts about their own intelligence, but everyone was ready to make the most of it.

I finished my year feeling the need to have done more. College is all about new experiences and there are so many options to choose from, it can get overwhelming at times. I kept telling myself that I just needed to get adjusted to college life before I would be able to handle a job AND extracurriculars. The fact was that, although classes were very challenging, it is those sort of things that expose you to campus life the most and, in my opinion, allow you to get the most out of your college experience. So my advice is, do too much first and then decide what works best for you.

GOOD LUCK ALL YOU RISING FRESHMEN!!

Freshman Year at Stanford University - Jennifer Kuang

As I sit here in my living room typing, I am still quite in awe that I have finished a year of college. It is truly unbelievable, and I can honestly say that this year has been the best year of my life. That is not to say that I did not experience any challenging times or hardships, but I feel that in all, my freshman year has been very positive and exhilarating and I have learned a lot and grown as a person.

In the beginning, I admit that I was very unsure and apprehensive about Stanford. It is after all one of the most prestigious colleges in the world, and I wondered if I would be able to keep up. In my first couple of months there, I definitely had a sort of culture shock. Students at Stanford are very different from students at El Cerrito. Everyone here had a work ethic, everyone was very focused and intelligent and they knew what they wanted out of Stanford and where they were going in life. Almost everyone I talked to knew what they wanted to major in, or at least had some sort of plan, whereas I was just winging it, my "plan" to figure it out as I went along. The people and the rigorous environment of Stanford made me realize that my concentration and work ethic from high school just aren't going to cut it here, that getting accepted, which seemed like a big deal at the time, was only the first step. I still have a lot more work to do if I want to survive through the next few years and come to possess the self-confidence in academics like my peers do.

More specifically with academics, I used my freshman year to explore my interests. Within three short quarters, I have taken classes from various fields, such as psychology, environmental science, archaeology, race and ethnicity, and much more. I can't say whether taking all these classes has helped me narrow down my interests toward a possible major, or made it even more confusing to decide, but I know I'll figure it out eventually. Apart from that, I really enjoyed my classes, although again I felt very incompetent compared to my peers during discussion seminars. I felt that they were all able to contribute so eloquently and used such substantial vocabulary while speaking that it was hard for me to keep up. However, what I always had to remind myself was that Stanford wasn't paying for my education in order to let me sit like a lump and not make the most of my education. I think that was a very important thing to think about in terms of academics at Stanford. You have to make the most out of every opportunity, whether that is in classes and learning to not be self-conscious about your intelligence and asking questions, or social life and stepping outside your comfort zone and talking to people you would not otherwise talk to. Something else that I learned at Stanford that is very crucial is that you have to be very proactive if you want something. It was very hard for me to come to terms with the fact that everyone at Stanford is good at something, and they are not just good, but also exponentially better than YOU. So if you want to do something, such as get elected to a government position or apply to be a part of some program, you have to put your all into that application. Doing things halfway gets you nowhere at Stanford, because you can bet that there are plenty of other people more capable than you who are fighting harder and better than you for that same spot.

Although the academic part of Stanford was downright intimidating at times, I had a lot of support from the friends I made here, and this is where the amazing aspect of an all-freshman dorm comes in. Living in an all-frosh dorm was exciting and the best part of my freshman year. It's great because everyone else is going through the same thing you are, transitioning from high school to college life, figuring out classes and getting to know Stanford. We have such a tight bond within our dorm, and I feel that we have really become a family that we can fall back on in the years to come.

I feel that my freshman year has been very successful. In addition to the amazing academics, I also spontaneously decided to walk on to the crew team, and it's been a lot of fun, despite the fact that I spent a majority of freshman year waking up before sunrise for practice. Because of crew, I had the opportunity to travel to other schools, such as Harvard and Princeton, to race, and I also obtained a lot of free gear, which is definitely a plus. I am also proud to say that I am a part of the team that won the national championship this year! That's right, look it up: Stanford Lightweight Women 2010 National Champions! Sorry, I had to. Apparently, it was a big upset.

Anyway, for me, freshman year seems to have been more like camp than school. Actually, I often like to say that it has been like an extended, year-long version of SEAD! Yes, the academics were hard, but the life experiences and the friendships I garnered are immeasurable. I absolutely cannot wait for sophomore year, where new and exciting things are awaiting. Not only will I be continuing crew for as long as I possibly can (before the realization that waking up at 5 AM is abnormal hits), but I have also been selected to serve as the Professional Development chair for Stanford Rotaract, as well as the Public Relations intern for DreamCatchers, a tutoring program for East Palo Alto middle school students. My freshman year has been a great foundation on which to build the rest of my Stanford career, and I, like Susan Rice said at Stanford's commencement just this past Monday, do feel that Stanford really is the best university on the face of the earth!

I thank you for reading, and I am especially grateful to everyone who has helped me to get to this point - my parents, family and friends, and especially the SEAD Program and Jay Davis, the ILC and all of its supporters, and of course, Ms. Kronenberg and Mr. Ramsey. You have all been there to witness my growth from a freshman in high school to a freshman at Stanford University!

Jennifer Kuang
Stanford University Class of 2013
El Cerrito High School Class of 2009
SEAD Class of 2008

Brown-1 Skips Town in a Hurry

Braving the dark of night and the early morning chill our six Ivy League Connection students (more commonly referred to as “Brown-1”) headed off to Providence, Rhode Island to begin their classes at Brown University.

Stephanie Chan and Andrew Gabriel will study International Financial Markets and Investments while Austin Long, Megan Robb, William Chong and Zijun Tang will study Techniques in DNA-Based Biotechnology.

Along with their chaperone Ms. Yolanda Bulls, the Brown-1 cohorts gathered at Pinole Valley High School, said their farewells to family members and boarded their shuttle at 5:15 this morning. 

Our six students have a full agenda on their plate visiting numerous other college sites over the next few days before beginning their studies.  Stay tuned to the Brown blog site [ http://2010-ilc-at-brown.blogspot.com/ ] over the next three weeks to read of the adventures of our team members while back east.

First Year

The following was offered to us from Theresa Berger--a 2009 graduate of Pinole Valley High School and an ILC cohort in 2008 attending Professor Kramnick’s Freedom & Justice course at Cornell.  Theresa is just completing her first year of studies at George Washington University.

To my fellow ILC students, supporters, Ms. Kronenberg and Mr. Ramsey,

I just finished my first year as a student at George Washington University and my first year living as a respectable young adult in a new world. In the course of just nine short months, I managed to grow what feels at least three years older and essentially plan the next several years of my life. To all of you who just experienced the same thing, I hope you learned just as, if not more than I did and had just as much fun in the process. And to all of you getting ready to begin that chapter, I hope you’re ready for something you’ve never experienced before, hence why I figured I might as well share a bit of my experience and what I learned.

To be completely honest, I hated the first month of school. I had very few friends, missed home, and kept to myself in my room. Attending a well-known private university in the heart of the nation’s capital where a good majority of the students came from private high schools, well-to-do families, and great ambitions was intimidating, lonely, and one of the hardest things I have ever experienced. I didn’t feel smart enough, rich enough, and felt completely out of place. Growing up in the Bay Area where the culture is as diverse, fresh, and exciting as its population and attending a school on the east coast where somewhere around 90% of the student body is white turned out to be a major and unexpected shock. It was humbling to realize how lucky I am to have been able to grow up in the East Bay and attend a public high school as diverse as Pinole Valley, something I learned to become extremely proud of when introducing myself to my peers.

Luckily, however, I soon realized I wasn’t alone in the way I felt about not fitting in. After about a month or so, I decided to get a job and began working as a second grade teacher for an inner-city after school program called “Heads Up.” At around the same time, I began talking to and becoming friends with my coworkers and some of my floormates. While I may not have had the same past as the majority of them, I did have the same present and found that we were all just as nervous, unsure, and confused as the other; we were all freshmen in college, away from home and everything we had ever known. I soon realized that becoming friends with someone wasn’t about finding people who were the “same” as me, but rather it was about learning to bond over our differences and what we could learn from each other. I think it became the most important thing I learned the entire year.

Of course, my social life wasn’t the only thing I was worried about and ended up learning a significant lesson about. One of the main reasons I chose GW was for its academics and the challenges they promised to provide. I would be lying if I said I loved all of my classes, especially the science ones I was forced to take to fulfill my general education requirements and the Biology class that gave the biggest perfectionist in the world the first “C” of her academic career.

Retrospectively, I think it was a good thing and a nice reminder that nobody is perfect and not everything we want and may think we deserve goes as planned.

However, believe me when I say that the amount of material you are exposed to and the individual attention provided by the instructors of a private institution is one of the best things you can ever hope to experience.

My favorite class during my first semester was an upper level Early American Cultural History course I decided to take. I was one of two freshmen in a class of about twenty-five that required close to fifteen hours of reading per week, an intensive amount of writing, and an extremely intimidating discussion section with juniors and seniors in which putting together a coherent sentence was a struggle. Nonetheless, I tried my hardest and learned to not care about what everyone else thought. I loved the material, barely slept, and went to my professor’s office hours almost every week.

Eventually, my hard work and dedication paid off when I got the highest grade in the class. That class inspired me to take a few other American Studies courses, all of which I was one of a few freshmen, and all of which became my absolute favorites. As a result, I am now a declared American Studies major with a concentration in Cultural Studies and Global Connections, and, coupled with my amazing experiences as a Heads Up tutor and a member of the ILC, would like to go into education policy when I graduate.

I finished my first year of college in a position many only dream of being in, with a declared major and a goal to work towards. I was only rewarded as such, however, because I was willing to explore, work hard, and challenge myself, actions I promise will provide you with the best experience possible so long as you give them your all.

I could go on and on about what I learned and about some of my favorite experiences, but I think the above two do well serving as the highlights of my freshman year. Although scary at first, one of the best parts about going to a new school is meeting new people and being able to learn not just about them, but also about you in the process. Embracing difference and developing self-confidence are what help make you as an individual as well as some of the best friends you could ever hope to find. Similarly, taking risks and embracing the most strenuous of academic challenges also build tremendous character and provide rewarding lessons of their own.

College is all about you and what you make of it. And a little selfishness can definitely go a long way.

Theresa Berger

Cornell University Summer College c/o 2008

Pinole Valley High School c/o 2009

George Washington University c/o 2013 

Penn Alumni Dinner

Sorry this is a bit late, but last Thursday was the University of Pennsylvania alumni dinner. I had a wonderful time. The food was delicious and the company, even better.

I had a chance to talk to four Penn alumni. The first was Myra, who graduated from the Wharton School of Business in 2008. She answered any questions I had, and told me her favorite year was when she went to Singapore for a semester to study abroad. I hope to be able to do that when I go to Penn. I also learned she stayed at Hill House her freshman year, which is my first choice for my freshman dorm. She said she had an awesome time and made some great friends.

Next, I met Mr. Phil Schlein who graduated more years back, but nonetheless was one of the main highlights of the night. He told some hilarious and inspiring anecdotes about his life during and after Penn. He gives me hope that I'll be able to do great things after I graduate.

Ms. Beth Topor from the Northern California Penn Alumni association was also there, and her speech just told me that Penn was definitely the best place for me to be.

I also met Joanne, an international student from the Philippines who graduated in 2008. Ms. Kahn, the principal of Pinole Valley High School, and Ms. Kaplan, the assistant principal attended in support of me.

I just want to thank Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Kronenberg, Mr. Gosney, and all the sponsors for giving the opportunity to visit Penn twice and arranging this memorable dinner. My dad and I enjoyed it a lot, and it further convinced me that I have so many people supporting me to go to a wonderful school. I hope this year's students like their visit to Penn as much I did last year.