The Brown Cohort's Potato Passion

The Brown rookies and our beautiful potato mascot, Billy.

As a student who's always busy and usually missing lunch at school, I was looking forward to the ILC dinner filling my stomach up. When we arrived at the meet up spot, Don talked to us about the procedures he wanted us to follow, though it was a little difficult to hear due to the loud trains and yelling from outsiders. The BART ride was a harsh on an empty stomach, but I was eager to spend time and eat dinner with my cohort. I also had an enjoyable time meeting the ILC alumni, especially the ones who have graduated Brown University. All five of us had questions for the alumni, and even after we reached our destination, we were still asking them questions incessantly. When we arrived in San Fransisco, I found myself struggling to walk around due to the heels I wore. Many of us wore heels, which led to several of us suffering from sore and sprained ankles.

The dinner was in a private area above a restaurant, and despite the small space Don somehow managed to fit all of us in it. The event started off with an introduction to the alumni, panelists, and parents in the room. Then, it was my turn to speak on behalf of the Brown cohort. Even though I prepared a speech, I ended up speaking my heart out about the experience and gratitude I had for everyone (especially Don). 

Kendra's hidden talent as a photographer has been revealed!

The food served to us was a unique experience. I didn't know what to expect as food during a formal dinner, so when I read the menu, I was completely confused. The names of the food were completely out of my mental dictionary, which made it impossible to visualize the food! Eventually, Guadalupe helped me by describing the dishes to me and made it a lot easier to decide which dishes to order. 

The next several hours were time spent with Kelsey, our parents, Kendra, and the alumni in our group. Guadalupe Morales and Charles Ramsey gave us a huge amount of information, in the span of those three hours. I asked Guadalupe several questions regarding the campus life and experiences she's had at Brown, which made me more excited for the trip this summer. Charles talked about the history and success Ivy League has had over the year. I was amazed by the amount of successful ILCers there were and they immediately became my new role models.  

By the time it was 9 PM, we all started to file out and take photos outside. I was thankful I had a warm vest on, because it was windy and felt incredibly chilly. While the Cornell cohort took pictures, the Brown cohort huddled together for body warmth. When it was finally our turn, Don told me to take off my vest, which left me shivering when the pictures were taken. During our little photoshoot, our team stumbled upon a potato on the ground. We asked Don if we could take a photo together with the it, and surprisingly accepted. I believe the five of us posing around the potato is the best cohort bonding picture we've taken so far!

The Brown family all together!