The opportunity that our daughter
received to attend the Ivy League connection was not only a blessing for her
but it was a blessing for our entire family. Having the opportunity to watch
her and support her through this process reminded us of how truly special she
is. Tayler worked so hard at writing those essays as she applied for 3
different programs offered by the Ivy League Connection. That alone made us
proud of her that she was willing to put her self out there up to 3 times in
order to increase her chances of acceptance.
Well, not to my surprise she was
selected into the very 1st cohort therefore there was no need for her to go to
the other two interviews. Sitting there with her before and after her interview
we were both very nervous, but call it mother’s intuition I felt sure she would
be selected.
After the acceptance and leading up to
the actual departure was a great time for us as a family. Lots of time talking
about all the what if's, planning, preparing and watching Tayler balanced her
excitement and her fear. Again, a great learning experience for us all. Never
questioning if she was mature enough but still secretly scared to have her gone
for an entire month, we, too, had to balance our excitement and fear.
Well, she left for her trip to Brown
University for a class in Macroeconomics (I am still wondering exactly what
that is!) During her sendoff we fed off of one another’s excitement... no room
for fear right now! She made it safe and sound.... she stayed in regular
communication with us for the 1st week... well then you all know what happened,
she started to enjoy herself a little bit too much bonding with her fellow
Brownies and well, things changed. Our communication began to get a little
irregular in week two, very irregular for week 3 and picked back up in week
four. Well it was at the beginning of week four that she reached her peak for
missing her own bed, her own bathroom and her own home cooked meals! She had to
balance her feelings of how great a time she was having with how much she was
missing Home Sweet Home!
Upon her return we were so happy to see
her at SFO. She seemed a little different. We quickly realized that in those 4
weeks she really matured. The exposure that she received has broadened her
perspectives on so many things.
We feel that the Ivy League Connection
is an irreplaceable program. The combination of the exposing these youth to Ivy
League Schools, taking an Ivy League Course, preparing them for being away from
home for a significant amount of time, the caliber of the chaperones (Ms.
Kaplan was AMAZING), the responsibility instilled in them to give back through
public speaking and blogging... all of this together makes this program unique.
The Ivy League Connection is
undoubtedly preparing these youth to be leaders...but not just leaders... they
are being prepared to lead with a sense of pride, respect for others and
personal responsibility to give back. We are very thankful that our daughter
had this opportunity.
Billy & Tracy Ward
