Kaleidoscopic Planning

This past Thursday, Don Gosney and the members of the UChicago ILC program met at Kaleidoscope Coffee to discuss the nuances of creating a visually appealing blog. While the timing was not optimal, as there were several distractions throughout the night, we managed to create a website that we hope will serve as a more than suitable place to share our experiences.

The first, and most difficult challenge was finding a combination of layout and background that would be both informative and make the site easy to navigate. After much discussion, several snacks, and even more drinks, we settled on symmetrical sidebars and a background that clearly displays our destination without distracting one's eyes from the text.

Don then showed us how to properly manufacture photographs to  be fit for the header of a blog (Hint: Photoshop experience helps). We finished up the night by learning how to use the online service MediaFire to share such pictures with others, be it for profile pictures or visual assistance to our descriptions.

I am very satisfied with what we managed to achieve in one short evening, and I hope that we can continue to maintain this level of productivity in the future.

First Cohort Experience

It has been nearly three weeks since the UChicago cohort was selected and it is still difficult to believe that I get to take part in this incredible program. I am so blessed to have been chosen to travel to Chicago this summer and take the Contagion course that I am extremely interested in and will benefit greatly from. A year ago, I could only dream of being an ILCer and now here I am writing my first UChicago blog.

This past Thursday night was the first time the entire UChicago cohort got together since we were selected. We planned to meet at Kaleidoscope Coffee in Richmond at 6:45 pm. Once we all arrived, we ordered our drinks and began working on our blog. We played around with the different themes and layouts on Blogger and discussed how we wanted our website to look. We worked very well as a team, as you can tell because of the great blog we created!

That night we took more photos, including the blog’s banner photo. Don also showed us his impressive skills with Photoshop. Through the process of creating our blog, I realized how much effort is put into each detail of the Ivy League Connection.

 Our cohort working on the blog

To end the night, we learned the basics of how to use Media Fire. Don taught us how to upload and share pictures with each other to use for our blogs.

Overall, I really enjoyed learning more about the process of blogging because we will be doing a lot more of that over the next few months. In addition, I enjoyed spending time with my cohort and I am really looking forward to the rest of my journey with them.

Sippin' on Coffee

"I like Kaleidoscope in Point Richmond so let's meet there.", Don sent an email on Wednesday night. I was thinking, of all the places in the universe, why the Kaleidoscope? Why not Starbucks or even Peets? How would you go about pronouncing the name, "K-lido-scope?"

"Weird name", I told myself repeatedly.

Our drive down the "K-lido-scope" was amusing. As Don was on the steering wheel, and I was in the front after approaching a dead end, I was curious for a satisfying answer, though I did not mention, on why "K-lido-scope." Perhaps, I had to be Detective Luitel in order to figure out this mystery. Also, I realized the correct pronunciation was "Call-eye-dis-cope"(you have to say Call a little fast).

Walking into Kaleidoscope on the left hand side were seats, and in front of the seats were the tables to "perfect" your beverages with sugars, and what not. The right side caught most of my attention, there were white triangle-shaped thingi-magickies that connected to create attractive patterns. As we walked in, we were looking to have the seats up-front with a large table for four but as there was an Open-mic night at 7 pm, we decided to sit next to the white triangle thingi-magickies.

One pleasing thing was there was not a lot of noise like Starbucks and Peets- no coffee grinders, music in the background, and loud people. It was peaceful.

Don told us to grab some drinks and the cappuccino stood out to me. I said, lets have a go. As there were a plenty of customers walking in, and only 1 cashier, it took a while to make the cappuccino.

Frankly, the enriching taste of cappuccino and coffee energized me. It was the best coffee I had ever had! The flavor, texture, and strong taste of the coffee was unique to Starbucks and Peets. Nevertheless, compared to the Starbucks, "Call-eye-dis-cope" was spacious and quiet. The conditions in the coffee shop was aimed for small meetings and study sessions.

Sipping on my cup of coffee, Don informed us on how to effectively use blogger, and mediafire. After the cappuccino, I was more awake not only because of the caffeine but also the environment and the rich taste. Regrouping and planning on how to effectively use blogger and mediafire while at the University of Chicago will benefit the ILC and the members. While blogging, we are able to develop writing skills and effectively promote the ILC. After the 2 hour meeting with my cappuccino, I am more excited to head out to Chicago then ever. 

While leaving, I made sure I grabbed another cappuccino on the go! The cashier gave me the coffee for free this time around, though, which was really nice of her. I will make sure to come back to "Call-eye-dis-cope". 

Bonding and Blogging

Yesterday evening was the first time the entire U Chicago cohort had met since the day of the interviews. Our meeting was taking place at Kaleidoscope Coffee, a cute little cafe in Richmond. Unbeknownst to us, the evening we had chosen was apparently "Mic Night", where members of the community have a chance to play music, read a poem, or present something to the cafe audience. Because of this, we could not sit where Don usually has had cohorts sit in the past. Instead, we pulled a couple of tables together and set up near the door.

The cohort hard at work in our little corner

The evening started off with a round of warm drinks, and then we began working on the blog site. We learned a lot about how to use Blogger and its different functions, and we made decisions on how we wanted our blog to look.

We also took a banner picture to use for the top of the blog, and Don took some headshots of me to use for my profile. We also got to witness Don's impressive Photoshop skills.

We managed to finish the layout and theme of our blog by nine, and so we spent a last fifteen minutes going over how to use MediaFire to share photos and use them on our blogs.

Overall, I had a great time learning lots of new skills and hanging out more with the rest of the U Chicago cohort. I'm looking forward to our next meeting, and spending lots of time with them this summer!

We Have a Chicago Cohort

Now that the Chicago cohort has established their blog site, we can post the announcement that we actually have a UChicago cohort.  Yes, this comes after the horse has left the barn but it’s better late than never.

Because the ILC got word late about the generous financial assistance from UChicago, the application process was put on the fast track.

Even after the nine finalists were announced, they were all asked to proceed with their applications to UChicago so when the interview panelists chose the cohort, the next day the applications could be submitted.  Classes were being filled first come first served and the ILC didn’t want to lose out on the choice course assignments.

The essay prompt for this year’s application had the applicants write about their dining experiences in the WCCUSD and to come up with possible solutions to enhance that experience.  Their responses were illuminating and the school board and District staff might want to read some of those essays to learn directly from the students what they think about the food they’re serving, the lengthy lines, the dining halls and other aspects of the experience.

As with most interview sessions, the competition was fierce and the interview panelists had a difficult time deciding who would represent West County in Chicago this summer.

As difficult as this task was, a cohort was selected.

As for those applications to UChicago, getting the teacher recommendations submitted in a timely fashion always proves to be a difficult chore and securing graded work products with comments from a teacher were equally difficult.  The new ILCers buckled down, though, and got their completed applications submitted within a few days of becoming ILCers.

Even though the ILC provides guidance, mentoring and the finances for the trips, the ILCers still need to apply to, and be accepted by, the schools.  Now they wait to hear the news about whether they should start packing their bags.