We ready...are they?

This morning we knew we had a busy day coming up as the students would be moving out of the lovely Omni Hotel in downtown Chicago and into the dorms at University of Chicago (in south Chicago, about 12 miles south). That morning we had a shuttle coming to take us away, but before that happened, I knew that we would have to get some food. I took off walking, after some help from the friendly concierge, towards a donut shop that apparently has some well renown food in the area. At a quick pace, I arrived in a few minutes to get an order of a dozen donuts to bring back. When I arrived back at the hotel, all the students were on time, and ready to eat. As we began chomping on some carbs in the foyer, I received a text that our ride had arrived. We headed downstairs to begin the next stage of the journey.

We arrived right on time to turn in our suitcases.  our rooms wouldn't be ready until 1 PM, so we had come up with a plan to tour the University of Chicago.  We headed to the Visitor's Center where we received an in-depth look at the school.  The tone was a much more serious one than Northwestern.  This college took it's academic very seriously.  Parents and students alike asked intense questions about student life, courses required, and even discussed (jokingly) the silly and interesting college prompts required by the University.

Those donuts tho...

Our tour was broken up quickly into sections from where we sat. Our guide was energetic and helped us get acclimated to the campus. Once again, our guide was involved in dance, which made for an entertaining tour. One notable event occurred when discussing campus safety. Our guide was in the middle of explaining how the campus is safe when two elder strangers approached mentioning that they did not feel safe on campus, and had run into some issues the night before. Our guide handled it appropriately, but it shows some of the deep divides that plague major cities like Chicago. Coming from a diverse co-op like the Bay Area, our cohort shrugged their shoulders, almost as if to say, "Well...we embrace diversity, and recognize where we come up short as a society. It's not a disease, it is people who need help".

On our tour, with the architecture continuing to impress.

We continued the tour, which ran longer than expected due to eager parents asking multiple questions for their Freshmen-in-High-School students, but they were good questions.  We found that the University, similar to Columbia University, also required a core of classes.  Now this is different than Northwestern University.  Our Bay-Are style of blaze your own path attitude did not entirely embrace that concept.  We understand the reason behind having a core, and the philosophy behind it, but we cannot create a new path if we continue to embrace traditional practices. I emphasized to the cohort that Chicago continues to give a lot of leeway and practice towards creative academia, and that it will give space to work.

We grabbed lunch at a deli quickly and headed back to campus to check out the dorms and get roommates. Based on the luggage left behind, we were the last group to check back in and get our room assignments. We were not late, as everyone made the 3pm orientation, but many families had arrived at 9am and had been sitting around waiting to check in for hours. I am excited to read the upcoming blogs and based on the camaraderie that has been established on this trip, I have completed two blogs in a row because I want to continue supporting the efforts of the group. To the ILC Chicago Cohort 2018: Do your best, compete with others but don't lose yourself in the process. Remember that being successful is in the trying, and we learn from failure. Don't be scared of trying your best and coming up short, that is just another measure of growth. Good luck, and go Chicago Cohort 2018!

Ready