Hercules Mom

Dear Mr. Ramsey:

Attached is a rather belated "thank-you" message to the ILC - "What the ILC Means to Us." Many thanks - we were quite busy these last three months, with appointments w/Ms. Kim and preparing our taxes for financial aid.

The application process was quite a process! Thank you all for providing Ms. Kim's services for us. We cannot imagine being able to go through this process without her. She always responded promptly to our questions about the financial aid forms, etc. She is extremely knowledgeable and we were impressed with how well she "connected" with Janna. A tremendous help.

Sincerely,

Julie Lee

(please see below about the ILC).


What the Ivy League Connection Means to Us…

We have many reasons to be grateful for Janna’s experience through the Ivy League Connection:

• The very generous ILC donors made it possible for a student such as Janna to gain a broader vision and perspective of the opportunities available.

• Janna’s grandparents, who were not able to finish high school, by necessity, had to quickly become self-sufficient as teens, working several jobs. They dreamed of their children and grandchildren going to college, and made great sacrifices for them. This would have made them very proud and happy (as well as this mom—a junior college “night school-er”).

• The ILC provided chaperones for all the groups. Janna’s chaperone, Ms. Lilhanand provided great peace of mind for the parents. Her guidance and encouragement, balanced with just enough wise restraint, let the students have the freedom to grow. The daily student blogs were a great “plus”!

• We are gratefully indebted for the professionalism and kindness of Ms. Sue Kim, who helped our family navigate through the formidable application and financial aid process. She definitely knows the universities and colleges well, having personally visited many, many campuses, and she provided excellent guidance and recommendations. There is a ton of information to wade through, and Ms. Kim is incredibly knowledgeable about the details--such as tax tips, college atmosphere, and the academic specialties each college has to offer. With her help, Janna felt confident about her choices for application.

• Thanks to Mr. Ramsey, Ms.Kronenberg, Mr. Gosney, and all of the members/donors who gave hours of hard work, organized parent informational meetings, personal calls/emails, and gave a tremendous boost to make all of this possible.

• We now feel confident about Janna going out of state for college, after her experience at Columbia. Only one of five gals in her Physics class, she enthusiastically embraced the challenge. She handled the dorms, life in New York City, and class demands with maturity. She grew in many ways this past summer.

How will this whole experience impress upon Janna? This past summer coincided and culminated with the election of President Obama, whose single mother challenged him during his high school senior year to not be “casual about your future.” She spurred him on to go to the “mainland” to Occidental, which led to Columbia and Harvard… The applications are in, and our seniors are waiting to see where they will be accepted. Hopefully, Janna may end up at a college back east, or at a California university. Any high school senior should feel that he/she will significantly contribute to others around them, whether they go to trade school, an Ivy League university, state college, local community college, etc. The most important impressions are the character building-blocks that seniors will take along with them.

The “Summer 2008, Ivy League Connection” recipients were given the priceless example of “paying-it-forward” to the next generation of learners, as presented and modeled with excellence by the Ivy League Connection members. I hope students everywhere will remember that no matter where they go they can make a difference to others.
Thank you,

Mrs. Julie Lee