Having just finished my AP exams today, I'm already feeling it's long overdue for me to express my gratitude for everyone involved who organized last week's dinner celebration at Scala's Bistro in San Francisco.
The event truly began for many students (including myself) at the El Cerrito BART station, where I met some of my Columbia teammates, Winston and Yueming, for the first time. What began as awkward greetings soon turned to lively conversation as we boarded BART, and continued all the way to the first class reception at Scala's where we were acquainted with just some of the wonderful people who've been working to make this all happen.
Listening to the earnest and enthusiastic speeches from ILC peers (great job Michael and Beulah!), graduates, and hardworking members really made me understand the force that's driving this program. That being said, we'd all like to thank Don, Mr. Ramsey, Ms. Knonenberg, and all of the school counselors and angels and everyone we have yet to meet for devoting their time and resources to the program the students.
I'm looking forward to meeting to members of the School Board tomorrow and I'm looking forward to going to New York together with everyone this summer. I'm sure we'll all have a great time challenging ourselves at our respective subjects while exploring some of the possibilities for our futures!
Jamie,
ReplyDeleteA blog like this helps us to appreciate that what we're doing is having a positive affect on you all. Thanks for the kind words.
What you wrote, though, about the awkwardness of meeting your fellow Columbians tells me that maybe we should plan for an informal get-together at a restaurant or something early in the process where we all can get to know each other without the fancy speeches, uncomfortable clothes and the huge dinner tab at the end of the evening.
If we know each other and become comfortable with each other, maybe we can work even more as a team to show those easterners just who we are and why they should be afraid of us.