College Tours and First "day" of Ivy Scholars!

Hello everyone! I am sorry I did not blog yesterday. After we got back from dinner, the four of us (Matt, Stephanie, Yohanna, and I) went for a walk...though it did start to rain. When we came back, I was exhausted and decided to take a rest before we met up with Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Kronenberg, and Ms. Larson today at 7:30 am. (Nevertheless, I am really glad that Ms. Larson got a chance to post pictures!)

After meeting with Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Kronenberg, and Ms. Larson, we all went to eat breakfast. Unfortunately, the place we intentionally meant to eat at (Marketplace) was closed so we went to eat at the Omni Hotel instead. Of course, the breakfast was delicious, however, time was running by quickly. We had to meet a tour guide at Connecticut College at 9:30 am, and to our best of luck, the GPS was not working. Using our relationship skills, Ms. Kronenberg, Ms. Larson, Stephanie and I pulled it off by contacting people we knew (including the concierge at the Omni Hotel) and asking them for directions! (Mr. Ramsey drove another car with Matt and Yohanna and they were depending on us for directions to get there). It was a great way to start off the day, and it definitely taught me a lot about what was mentioned in the book, Never Eat Alone: Relationships do help; not only for being successful, but in any situation, like when your GPS doesn't function.

When we finally arrived at Connecticut College, the real fun began. Our tour guide, Amy, was very nice; and though we did not have a whole lot of time for the tour, she did an amazing job. Her presence definitely strengthened my thoughts about going there for college. (I will actually write another post about Connecticut College after I discuss a little about the whole day in general).

We had to rush once more from Connecticut College to Wesleyan University. We were prepared by asking for directions earlier and finally made it in time to join a tour group. Though we missed some of it, we were well caught up. Not to mention, after the tour, we were able to visit the admissions office to get more information about the school.

After walking around two big campuses, we were finally able to eat pizza! (We ate one hour before dinner for the Ivy Scholars program began). It was a tiring day, but the Ivy Scholars program just began. When Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Kronenberg, and Ms. Larson dropped us off, we were already on our way to dinner. The four of us were so full that we only ate dessert. It was very great though because we got to meet people even though we did not eat for long. We met students from Korea, Vietnam, Long Island, Chicago, and many more. Since we ended dinner early, we were able to interact with the other students before the orientation began. It was a great way to socialize (since most students arrived earlier on the day).

The orientation went really well. I found out that there are 70 students attending this Ivy Scholars program and many staffs here to support us as well as mentor us. We were able to hear from Dr. Luong again and also from Dean Nick Coburn-Palo. Lastly, the orientation ended with an introduction to our two top instructors, Chelsea and Drew. Chelsea is a rising senior at Duke, and Drew is a current Yale student who owns a coffeeshop here in New Haven (he started his own business as an undergraduate!) They are very nice, and though the course is intense, I am sure that I can count on them as well as any of the staff and peers for support. Chelsea and Drew went over rules for the program, and discussed the areas that we could not go pass outside of our dorms. Afterwards, students got a chance to meet with them more in person after the orientation; though the four of us had other plans...we were determined to get a FAN!

I was really glad that some staff members were with us the whole way to the store. Some stopped to get water and others (like us) went to buy materials. We then met everyone else who came along at 9:30 to head back to our dorms.

The curfew goes as follows: by 10 P.M, all students had to be within the college gates. By 11 P.M, students had to be in the "hallway" (the level where our room is located). At 12 A.M, we have to be in our rooms; and lastly, lights out at 1 A.M.

Although tomorrow is our first day of lectures and meetings, today was a great start; not to mention, we already have papers to read (not including the pre-requisite books). I am so excited yet very nervous for what is to come. I hope that you enjoyed reading this blog, and hopefully get a good insight about Connecticut College (written on the next blog I am about to post). Thanks for reading!