St-Jean at DeJean

Tonight was the night of the school board meeting and the last (probably) event before departure day! Don emphasized the importance of this meeting via email about a week ago, explaining that it gives the ILC lots of exposure (and a TV spot!), as well as helping with fundraising. In addition to the actual meeting, the evening includes a photo opp, which is why we were required to dress formally and bring a parent.

Now I was happy to throw on a suit to take a nice picture, but bringing a parent would end up being a little more challenging. My mother had to drive my brother to another obligation, and my dad had a meeting for work scheduled at the same time. Don was insistent that my dad should try to make it in time for the picture, if not the presentation, which was possible, but that still left me lacking transportation. Luckily, the board meeting was at DeJean Middle School, which is a convenient ten-minute bike ride from my house. The caveat: I would have to bike in a suit, something entirely new to me! (Spoiler: its pretty much the same as biking in anything else, just a bit more uncomfortable)

Stylin' at the Board Meeting (Left to right: Audrey, me, Ana)

When I arrived, it was 5:55; I was five minutes early. Don arrived at 6:00 on the dot, and we quickly went over the game plan for the evening. We would get 5 minutes near the beginning of the meeting, so we only had time for Don, Hawi, and Shrijal to speak.

Before we presented, Don had reserved (read as: 'placed pieces of paper saying "reserved"') some seats in the front row for us to sit and hold the ILC banner.

Don's very humble and very official "Reserved" signs

Shreejal holding the banner

(Side note here, but maybe the most important revelation of the night: I learned that all the emblems on the ILC banner are just made up by Don to avoid copyright. If you look closely, one of the emblems has a depiction of a guy surfing on a diploma, which is amazing.)

Visual representation of how the ILC prepares us for college

We then said the pledge of allegiance, listened to the minutes of the last meeting and finally heard two other organizations present to the board before it was our turn. Both Shrijal and Hawi managed to give excellent speeches despite only having 75 seconds, and Don managed to finish with 16 seconds to spare (which he did not hesitate to tell the board).

Shreejal speaking on the behalf of the Chicago cohort

In the meantime, my dad had managed to arrive and was there for the picture. Isaac, Shrijal and I got to sit down in the front, and the parents stood in the back.

The nice, formal picture

All in all, the meeting went very efficiently, something I feared it wouldn't! Next time I see the ILCers it will be an ungodly hour in the morning, but I am still looking forward to it.