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.
