Days Packed!

Today’s busy schedule and my frequent naps due to a lack of sleep last night leave me with the feeling that it’s been so much longer than just two days since we landed in New York! This morning’s scrumptious breakfast feels like an eternity ago, and any one of the activities alone would have been enough to make my day.

To start off the day, we took a trip to the Empire State Building. Wow. When I first stepped out onto the observatory deck, I just lowered my camera in a daze. It was absolutely futile to try and capture the vastness and beauty of the New York cityscape on a pocket camera.

After our descent, we boarded a train to visit Vassar. I used the journey as an opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep. The trip to Vassar showed me how different schools can have truly different approaches to education. In the past, whenever someone mentioned higher education, I would conjure up images of enormous lecture halls filled with hundreds of sleepy students, occasionally jotting down notes in hopes of passing the coming exams. Imagine my surprise when we were told that the average class size at Vassar was fifteen! Not only that, but in addition, the teacher to student ratio was about one to nine! It blew my mind that by the numbers, these college students were receiving more individual attention than most Kindergarteners!

After the return trip (which I also slept through), we worked up our appetite on the walk to Oceana. There, I had a magnificent meal consisting of Manhattan clam chowder, various sides, and the pièce de résistance,

caviar. At this point, let me extend my deepest thanks to Mr. Ramsey, the rest of the Board Members, and everyone else who has worked to give each and every one of us the enormous privilege to this experience. I’m looking forward to my Chemistry program, where I will learn from nearly a dozen professors while meeting people and making connections!