From the Parents of Tanya Krishnakumar

Ever since Tanya got into High School, she has been talking about Ivy League Connection (ILC) program.  Fortunately, her good friends were prior ILC participants, who turned out to be great ambassadors for ILC. They instilled the aspiration in Tanya to participate in the ILC program.

She had prepared herself very well for the rigorous selection process.  We remember the day of interview in March; we were nervously waiting outside El Cerrito High School and as every student was coming out, we thought that Tanya’s probability of acceptance increased.  At one point, we could not bear the suspense anymore, so we approached a parent who had just walked out of the school and asked if they saw Tanya.  She mentioned that the only people inside were the finalists which meant that Tanya made the cut and we could not hold our excitement. 

Tanya walked out with three other students, her cohort for the “Grand Strategies” program in Yale.  Our joy knew no bounds; we shared this news immediately with all of our friends and family. 

The events that took place after the selection process were all coordinated impeccably due to the energetic and thorough ILC coordinators Mr. Gosney, Mr. Ramsey and Ms. Kronenberg.  They had an action plan for every step of the program from selection through the actual travel and the summer course.  Don Gosney conducted the initial tutorial session giving us, the parents and the students a walkthrough of the program and a list of things that they would need to survive the travel and the stay in the dorms.  On May 17, we enjoyed an exceptional dinner in RN74, an elegant restaurant in downtown San Francisco amongst the Yale alumni and the ILC sponsors.  Both Tanya and I had great conversations with our tablemates during the dinner and learned a lot about the curriculum and the student life in Yale. Tanya walked out even more excited about going to New Haven, CT and started counting down the days.  I, as the parent, was convinced that this would be the best summer of her life. 

Before we knew, the travel date to Yale arrived on July 22, 2012.  We woke up at 1:30 AM to drop Tanya off at El Cerrito High School.  Here was another opportunity to witness Don’s exemplary organizational skills.  He had the talking points ready to prep not only the cohort traveling but also the parents who were left behind.  He handed us the contact information of all the travelers and the itinerary to keep us informed at all times of the travelers’ whereabouts. 

During the next week, we received a call every evening from Tanya, giving us the report of her day filled with excitement from visiting the campuses to the exclusive dinners with the administrators and/or alumni.  She also shared her experience through the blogs, which provided the visual treats to the reader.  They (the cohort) had travelled to numerous campuses including Georgetown, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, and Wesleyan to name a few.  The calls diminished as they went to Yale explaining the rigorous schedule of the course.  During one of the few calls that she made, Tanya mentioned about the Marshall Brief and the measures that they took to prepare for it as a group.  It sounded both exciting and exhausting based on the number of hours that they put in for the preparation and presentation.  We heard many good things about the exposure that the kids got through this process.

We could not wait to see Tanya on August 12.  However, we were disappointed to hear that her flight was cancelled and that she could not get back to San Francisco until the next afternoon.  When they finally arrived at SFO, the cohorts were visibly fatigued but glad to be back at home. 

Tanya came back with a positive outlook about the “outside world”, away from her comfort zone (both home and school).  She managed to handle everything independently and bravely.  She is confident about her public speaking skills, which was the biggest achievement from the course.  She learned a lot about the Yale culture, administration, campus and the life in New Haven.  She met some amazing people from around the globe and bonded with few of them.

At the end of the day, this was all possible only because of the Ivy League Connection and we need to thank the organization profusely for giving Tanya this once in a lifetime opportunity to preview the college atmosphere prior to her actual admission to college.  She is now well equipped to be a proud ambassador of the ILC and is looking forward to recruit future candidates for the program. 

At home front, she seems to be more matured and determined to get an admission in one of the Ivy League Colleges, which previously seemed out of reach to us.

Bharathi Iver and Kris Ramamurti

From the Parents of Alysa Butler

We would classify the entire process as SIMPLY AMAZING.

I am the Father of Alysa Butler and I was reflecting on how this amazing opportunity began. I believe it was in the month of December, 2011 as we were all beginning our day. Alysa, mentioned that she would be attending an informational assembly to be held on campus given by the ILC Alysa, always has been very active on campus participating in different clubs and study groups—many of which I was familiar with but I had not heard of the Ivy League Connection. I asked, “What is the Ivy League Connection?” She said, “I will tell you later.”

When she returned home that evening. She was excited and told us that the Ivy League Connection is a group formed by the WCCUSD that selects students to tour some of the colleges on the East Coast and participate in a Summer Educational Program. The ILC is planning to send two people and depart on June 25^th, 2012 and return on July 28^th, 2012. I thought, WOW!, it must be expensive. Some of the colleges that they were planning to visit were Yale, Washington University (in St. Louis), Cornell, UPENN and others. The lucky few would get to experience living in a dorm room.

We encouraged her to submit an application and participate in the process. Part of the process was a meet and greet between the ILC and Parents. We had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Charles Ramsey, Mrs. Madeline Kronenberg and Mr. Don Gosney at the meeting. Each ILC staff person gave an overview of their role in the program and assured each parent that their child would be safe. The dorms were staffed with security 24 hrs a day whose responsibility was to monitor the premises for the safety or the residents. All ILC participants would receive three meals per day and have supervision by a chaperone. This information eased the apprehension and eased the stress.

There had been a series of interviews of Alysa's instructors at school and recommendations and finally through the process of elimination there were eight students selected as finalists. However, only two lucky people would be able to represent the school at the Academy of Physics at UPENN. Alysa came home one day and said, we have to be at El Cerrito High School at 5 PM.  She announced that she had made it to the final interview. She seemed very calm but I was nervous enough for both of us.

We ate a little dinner and hurried off to the final interview. Upon our arrival as we searched for the room we were becoming anxious because we did not want to be late for the interview but some of the doors were locked. Finally we located the room. We were not the last to arrive. Then a familiar face, Don Gosney, he was brought refreshments and let us know that the interviewing staff was running a few minutes late. Don informed us of the process to be followed. He informed us that we would draw numbers from a cup to establish a numerical order for interviews.

Alysa drew number five. The interviews began number one, two, three, with each interview lasting longer than the first. Then number four which I though would never end. Finally, number five. I offered a few words of encouragement to Alysa and told her how much I love her and to do her best. I was a nervous wreck. Alysa, though, seemed very calm throughout the entire process. I began to realize that she was confident, that she would do well.

She returned after what seemed like an eternity. I asked how did you do? She said OK but did not want to talk about the process because there were still three prospective people to interview in the room. After all interviews were complete we all took a 10 minute break. After the break all participants and their parents were asked to go across the hall to the interview room We all met the interviewers which consisted of some professors, community business people and teachers

After all the introductions were complete they announced the two final people to become part of the Ivy League Connection. SIMPLY AMAZING! Alysa Butler was named as one of the two people selected. I was overjoyed for her. As we drove home I became more and more excited for her. Slowly I began to realize she had never been gone from home for such a long period of time nor had she been so far away.

The next meeting was with Don Gosney. There were consent forms to sign and packets of information that needed to be faxed to UPENN (that was the school Alysa was selected to attend). She would become part of the advanced Physics Academy. WOW! SIMPLY AMAZING.

We managed to get all the paperwork done and returned in a timely manner. We had a final meeting and met the Chaperone Mr. Ian Lawrence. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Ramsey, Mrs. Kronenberg, Mr. Gosney and Mr. Lawrence for the care and concern given to my daughter throughout the entire process, THANK YOU

On the Morning of 06/25/12 at approx 3:30 AM they were off to catch their flight at San Francisco Airport to Philadelphia, PA. Throughout the next month I was in contact with my daughter regularly. I was never concerned about her safety and welfare because I was confident that the Ivy League Connection would watch over her. She met many diverse groups of people and got the opportunity to interact with them academically and socially. She experienced riding the trains of New York City and has been to some places that will enrich her personally.

THANK YOU,

Denise & Kerry Butler

From the Mother of Abigail Serrano

Hello, I'm Hilda Serrano, Abigail's mother and through this blog I want to thank God for the staff that makes up the ILC, and for giving her the opportunity to participate in one of the most effective programs for the women in mental, physical and spiritual.

Women and Leadership has been a great support to me as a mother because my daughter overcame in many wrong beliefs and also learned to appreciate and see life from another point of view. The importance of preparation for anyone who yearns for a better future is based on their own confidence, faith in one’s self and hard work to reach goals. I believe with all my heart that the one who has the privilege to be part of this program, also will have the power to build his future successfully.

There are no words to express our gratitude that the ILC left to us as parents. Moreover I also take the opportunity to thank all those who contributed with money, time, effort, knowledge, patience and love for each of these young people whom are involved with ILC because without them wouldn't be possible the change that is now reflected in our teens.

Nevertheless, my daughter has in mind the great commitment that means giving or be a part of a social movement, with the responsibility and privilege of transmitting and work hard for others giving testimony of what she learned in this program. As a mother, I have the compromise of cultivate in my daughter the heritage in knowledge, the moral and love that she will leave to the new generations.

Thanks again,

Miguel & Hilda Serrano