Through WCCUSD’s Ivy League Connection program, Hercules High School Students Justine Betschart, Stacy Chan, Ramiah Davis-Shephard, Louisa Man, Julia Maniquiz, and Yueming Wang will be attending Cornell University to either study Freedom and Justice or Hotel Operations Management during the summer of 2009.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

The Last Day of Freedom

Thankfully, we did not have to get up early today; so we all got some much needed rest. We have all been setting up times to meet and have been doing things as a group. I am very glad we are doing this; it is really nice to be going places with familiar faces. The six of us met for brunch this morning at 11:15 and again at 12:50 for the study Skills Crash Course. Do not worry, we know that we are to meet other students while we are here, and we are doing that.)
On that note, the Crash Course was very informative. The presenter, Janet Sawyer, spends her time interviewing students on their way to the medical field and writes biographical letters for them. She broke down some differences between college and high school . We had a quick and easy reading test (all we had to read was “Paris in the the Park.”) No, it is not a typo; the whole point of the lesson was that reading every single word is not so important by the time you get to college; rather concepts and main ideas are what we are expected to absorb. Ms. Sawyer went over many different topics, but I must comment on how much I learned about sleep. I did not know that there are different specific stages of sleep and that it takes 90 minutes to complete one full cycle through all five stages. One other thing I would like to mention is that she set up a blog for us. Yes, another blog.
The next event on schedule was the activities fair. This was where people could sign up to participate in the creation of “The Summer Times” and the yearbook. I did put my name on the nonbinding list and will see how much time they intend to consume. Honestly, I seriously doubt that I will have time to participate, but this way I can at least have a little information about these two productions.
During all of this we had a little controversy. Our RCA – forgive me I introduced them as RA’s on my last post – did not know about our excursion to Madeline’s. One thing my experience in student government has taught me is that persistence has many rewarding affects. Although the dinner was almost canceled, one last call to Mr. Ramsey and a quick run – literally – up three flights of stairs to Ms. Abbey Eller – who is the summer program director – made it happen. Dinner was delicious. (I had stuffed pork chops with vegetables and mashed potatoes.) Being as how it was our last event with Mr. Ramsey, it was bitter sweet. Once again, this is meant positively; because it was a great night.
Tonight roommate contracts were due and the weekend is over. No more – well not much more – fun and games. It is time to get down to work. Classes start bright and early in the morning. Julia, Justine and I are meeting for breakfast at 7:50. Stay posted for more good news.


*Ramiah

p.s. I thought that I would add some subtle color to my blog not only because Mr. Gosney recommended it, but also because I am unable to upload my pictures to the computer. This way I can have somewhat of a personal identity.

1 comment:

  1. Ramiah,

    Love the color. It breaks my heart to send an email with plain black text. And even though I look really good wearing black shirts, I prefer my colorful aloha shirts to give me style. [Also, it makes it easier for my mother to see me when I'm on TV.] Some of us were just born to be different.

    The possible disaster you described should be a valuable lesson for all concerned to broaden the lines of communication. Mr. Ramsey already knows of the rules these universities place on the students leaving campus so no matter how innocuous it might seem, it's always better to make sure that everyone is informed well in advance. That might help take some of the stress out of things. I'm not faulting Charles on this but it's all too easy to have a break down in communication. What might have happened if Abbey Elder had been unavailable that evening?

    I'm unfamiliar, Ramiah, with the acronym "RCA". They were always RA's in my time (Resident Assistants). What are they called these days?

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