On graduation day, Mr. McCarthy and Mrs. McCarthy greeted all the beaming students and parents with a closing ceremony. Student speaker, Emily Stinson, laid out the framework of what the Hotel Operations Management consisted of, while another group showcased their presentation on Choice Hotels. Two other students spoke on behalf of the class about the CHESS simulation as well as the computing skills that each student had excelled in by the end of the journey. Finally, to close the presentation, Mr. McCarthy and Mrs. McCarthy pulled a fast one on us. They surprised us with a hard copy (binded!) of our final CHESS report for every Hotelie. To tie the ceremony up, they presented each student with a completion of Summer College certificate.
But, wait, there was more! The teacher assistants compiled a powerpoint slideshow of photos of students, whether they were inside or outside of the classroom with their usual team or friends. At that point, I was thisclose to getting teary-eyed. It was such a special moment, and it finally hit me that the whole experience was coming to an end. Graduation day was one of the best highlights of my trip.
To finish off with a lasting impression, the ILC scholars had to make our final mark. So what did the we do?
Show our appreciation by hugging Mrs. McCarthy and giving a firm handshake to the one and only Mr. McCarthy. I remembered clearly Mr. McCarthy's words: "You all represented your school district well."
This post may be one of my last blogs for a while, so to walk away, I want to reaffirm that I am especially gracious for having such a large and close-knitted ILC team who has supported and provided me resources every step of the way. From the founders to the sponsors to the faculty staff, I want to thank everyone all for such an amazing opportunity that I will forever cherish for the rest of my academic career.
Thank you,
Stacy Chan
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful send-off by the McCarthy’s. I can understand why the eyes might well up on you.
Congrats to you and your cohorts and, by the way, we are equally proud of you all.
Stacy,
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming our way. I want to wish you a fantastic senior year at Hercules High School. During the past six months I have come to admire your determination and sincerity. I came to realize that your being part of the Ivy League Connection was important.
Now you have the complete tool set to forge ahead and craft the program that will allow you to compete to earn an entrance into a highly selective college or university. I know that your time at Cornell in the Hotel School will serve you well, not just now but later in life when you depart for college.
I will always remember us at the San Francisco Airport all having lunch and seeing and hearing the joy and excitement that you and the others had in going to Ithaca. It will be a moment that I will never forget. I also share Mr. Gosney's pride in knowing that each of you gave your very best and that you all did superbly with your course work. Furthermore, each of you exhibited excellent behavior and were never a problem for your chaperone Mr. Crossley. We are all grateful for that.
Our mission is to provide resources throughout the duration of your time in the program. We would feel that we let all of you down if we failed to do our part. I am glad that you were "conscious" of your effort and commitment to make sure that we covered all angles.
So, enjoy the balance of your summer. Take the time to relax with the knowledge that this is the final summer before you actually embark on life as a full fledged adult.
Take care.
Charles T. Ramsey, Esq.
School Board Member
West Contra Costa
Unified School District