The Night of Nights

Tonight was a night full of memories that will never leave me. From the amazing, well-accomplished alumni that I met, to the first class dinner that I had at Scala's Bistro, I have to say that I am even more excited to be heading to Vanderbilt this summer. Of course I was quite apprehensive about the dinner because I wasn't really sure what to expect. Even the countless number of times that Damian Wong, a former ILCer, told me that there was nothing to worry about, did almost nothing in calming my apprehensions. We all met as a group at the El Cerrito Plaza BART station and introduced ourselves which made the trip a little bit less nerve-wracking, even seeing my name spelled correctly strangely helped ease my nervousness.

A rare picture of my name spelled correctly

As the night went along, I learned that there was really nothing to worry about. Throughout the dinner, I had the opportunity to know more about Vanderbilt through the alumni at my table Kathleen Simcoe. She talked about different aspects of Vanderbilt that she fell in love with during her time there and also gave me advice on how to get a full scholarship. As Don would say, "free is good." Mrs. Simcoe now works with kids with autism and says that she completely loves her job. She is fortunate enough to have become what she has always wanted to be. She serves as an inspiration to me as I try to forge my path to being a doctor.

The dinner also consisted of really amazing food. I had Halibut for the first time and it was also an amazing experience being at a five-star restaurant. Just the overall vibe of our room at the restaurant was so hospitable and friendly. Before the dinner was over, Mrs. Simcoe was nice enough to give me her business card and told me to email or call anytime which really made the realize that the 'Connection' part of the Ivy League Connection is what really make this organization special.

Learning more about what Vanderbilt has in store made me even more excited for the experiences I will have with the my cohorts. Also, I am excited to see what I will be able to bring back from the trip to my peers.