Thursday, March 17, 2011

Lessons From Outback Steakhouse

Hello, my name is Taylor Doty and I am one of the four lucky students chosen to attend Cornell's Freedom and Justice Program this summer. My first post will be about the wonderfully insightful dinner I attended, along with my fellow "Freedom and Justicers," at Outback Steakhouse this past weekend.

The purpose of the dinner was to inform us newly accepted "Freedom and Justicers" of what we will be facing this coming summer and how to prepare accordingly. All four members from last year's Freedom and Justice program sat across the table from us and talked about the ways in which they worked together to manage the rigorous work load.

One of the most important steps in preparing for Cornell, that I picked up, was forming a study group. The four previous students mentioned how one of the most important portions of the class is the books we read in preparation of Mr. Kramnick's lectures. They mentioned the importance of getting the reading done ahead of time, along with taking in-depth notes and having discussions to really absorb and understand the reading. This insight was accompanied by fact that the homework assignments will be reading from the books; meaning that by getting the reading done ahead of time there would be more time to spend doing other things. This stuck with me because I fully intend on enjoying myself while at Cornell this summer, not to say being stuck in my dorm reading all day wouldn't be fun but I am pretty confident that I can manage my time from now until the summer to read the books, which will then lead, as mentioned by the previous students, to a less stressful trip.

The previous members also discussed the format of the program. They mentioned having a lecture everyday followed by a TA session, a writing course, and guest lecturers. As a Junior, and soon a rising Senior, I found this to be the most exciting part. I can not wait to go off to college and I am overjoyed that this program gives me the opportunity to see what being off at college on my own will be like. The students mentioned not having our moms or dads there to keep us on task. I have to admit I do not know how to use a laundry machine, and when told by students that I would have to do my own laundry because my wonderful mother could not come with me, I did panic slightly. Looks like I will be learning a whole lot of new things during this trip not only involving through the courses I will be taking, but also through being off on my own and in charge of myself.

The dinner with the previous "Freedom and Justicers" was prefect. I can not imagine a better way to further understand how the program works than being told by those who attended the previous year. I would like to thank those four students for their time and insight. I know my fellow "Freedom and Justicers" and I took it to heart and have already started forming our own study group.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Advice and Encouragement: A First Look at Cornell 2011

Hello, my name is Genevieve Simmons. I am a sophomore at El Cerrito High School that will be attending the Freedom and Justice program at Cornell this summer.

My first entry is going to be based on the dinner this previous weekend held to inform my fellow Cornellians and I of what to expect of this summer and how to prepare accordingly. All four students who attended the program last year were there to share their experiences with us, so I got to hear on a first-hand basis the best advice there is to be had.

The first thing that struck me was how articulate each of these students were, not only making it easier to understand what I needed to do to ready myself for this summer, but also inspiring me to look ahead to the future and how my public speaking might evolve to such a level after this ILC experience.

Study groups. We were assured these meetings to discuss our readings (our books were given to us that night, and not light reading either) were of the utmost importance and crucial to our success this summer. Homework would be mostly comprised of reading, so getting ahead of the game in this aspect is something I fully intend on taking advantage of, and am thankful for both the opportunity to do so and the advice given to me.

All the information on what to expect was very instructive. It qualmed any fears I had about problems I would face, and got me looking forward to summer even more. All the anecdotes about fun times there at Cornell, activities to be had on campus, and tips on what to do and expect fueled my excitement for this opportunity. I also got to meet my chaperone, Ms. Tiffani Neal, and am looking forward to getting to know her better as well.

The dinner was a great success in my eyes, especially as I looked around the table into the eyes of my fellow ILC Cornellians, reveling in the opportunity we had and were soon about to undertake together.

Monday, March 14, 2011

First ILC Dinner

Hey Everyone! My name is Joe Arciniega, and I am excited to be posting my first entry on the "2011 ILC at Cornell" Blog.

We Cornellians involved in the Freedom and Justice Program had our first real ILC experience last night when we ate dinner with the students who went to our program last year. The dinner was held at Outback Steakhouse, which I had never been to before, and was much more informative than I ever could have imagined.

The four students who spoke to us all came from Pinole Valley High School, just as we all come from El Cerrito High School this year, and they gave us numerous tips on how to prepare for this rigorous program. They suggested that we form a study group so that we could all stay on top of the reading and bounce ideas off of each other and also that we start having what they called "blogging parties". The essential idea of a blogging party is to all blog together and talk about whatever it is that we're blogging about so that we can remember, in detail, every aspect of that event.

They told us that the only homework that we would have in the program would be the reading that we're already doing, which means that it is absolutely crucial for us to finish our reading before the class starts so that any homework we have is really just review.

The students also told us about all of the fun things there are to do in Ithaca, such as movies, sports, swimming areas, museums, college tours, and even a boat that you can go out on during the Fourth of July to see fireworks. Information like this relaxed me a lot, because I originally thought that this program was going to be nothing but three weeks of straight work (although they did tell us not to let these fun things distract us from our studies).

As the four students spoke, my pen darted back and forth, nailing down every piece of information that I could receive from them. I guess I took a few more notes than everyone else because at one point our chaperone turned to me and asked, "Are you planning on sending all those out to the rest of us?" haha.

By the end of the night, I felt that I had a much better understanding of what to expect from this journey and also of how I could prepare myself to take it. I plan on following every one of these students' suggestions and I cannot thank them enough for providing all of us with such valuable information. My cohorts and I have already begun discussing possible times to meet for our study group and I am very much looking forward to working with them throughout the program.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Reality Sets In ~ and I Couldn't Be Happier

I'm Nick Shebek, and this will be my first post on our Cornell 2011 blog.

Last night, my peers attending the Freedom and Justice Program and I went to a dinner at Outback Steakhouse to meet with the Pinole Valley students who attended the program last year.

I had been curious to hear just how the class had been for the students from Pinole Valley last year, and was looking forward to an inside perspective on the overall experience. As soon as I was introduced to the Pinole Valley students, I realized that the people accepted into this program were no joke. They all spoke very eloquently about their journey, and made me feel like I was a part of a family now that I would be attending this program with the ILC. I already had a decent idea of what they had done while in Ithaca just by reading their blog posts but getting to meet them face-to-face taught me all I will need to know to have a successful trip this summer. These students taught me many lessons and stressed the importance of studying in the months leading up to the program. Along with all the important academic tips they gave, they also were reassuring and made it clear that, although this is a time-consuming class I will be attending, it's important to remember to have fun in Ithaca.

I thought this meeting was very worthwhile because getting to meet with the group in a relaxed environment proved to be both informative and motivational. They gave me more advice than I would have thought possible, from what food to stay away from at the cafeteria to where to sit for Professor Kramnick's lectures. Along with all this great information, I also got to meet my chaperone for this trip: Ms. Tiffani Neal. I was delighted to learn that she was going to be our chaperone. Ms. Neal seems like a very down-to-earth person, and I look forward to getting to know her as our journey continues.

These knowledgeable students shared many of their great stories and experiences, but one of the things that really stood out to me was just how close they seemed to be. Every question we asked was followed by knowing glances towards each other, and they treated each other just like family. I am excited about forming similar bonds with all of my fellow ILC Cornellians this summer, and June just can't come quickly enough.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011