The Start of a New Journey

Education is the answer to some of the most pressing questions that are left unanswered. Many of the issues that threaten our long-term values of the country from capitalism to healthcare can be solved with an education. What I learned at the University of Chicago does not limit itself to only the Saieh Hall of Economics but allows us to improve businesses, government values, and our personal lives. One of the core reasons as to why I decided to study Economics was so that I could better implement these lessons into my life. 

In Mid-December, Don came over to Middle College High School to inform students about the Ivy League Connection. I remember coming out of the orientation and one of his quotes I recall is, "When opportunity knocks, some people answer the door while others just complain about the noise." I felt at this very moment that the Ivy League Connection was the next step to better my academically and socially. I knew I was going to apply to this program. This is one of the opportunities that I had to grasp. 

The ILC was soon taking in Vanderbilt applications. I remember I was in class when I received Don's email and my heartbeat gradually increased because I was very nervous from that moment forward. I spent hours and hours writing the application but unfortunately, I was not chosen for the interview process. Perseverance, however, is key! I spoke with Don on how I could improve my future essays, and implemented some of his advice onto the Chicago prompt. I was chosen as one of the 9 students for the UChicago interview, and I immediately knew after looking through the course offerings that I wanted to study Economics. While in the interview, I heavily emphasized the importance of Economics in the 21st century and how I can implement it to strengthen our community. As the interviewers announced my name for selection, I texted my family to share this moment of happiness. 

From then on, it has been one heck of a ride with the rest of the ILC'ers. We have attended the tutorial, meet and greet dinner, orientation, school board presentation and finally the University of Chicago. While at the tutorial, I further connected with many UChicago and Vanderbilt cohort. As soon as the school board presentation rolled by, I knew that it was only a matter of weeks before I would depart for the University of Chicago. 

The Board Presentation

People know me as a very energetic person but while at Chicago it was different because I started doubting my capabilities. I had never experienced this sort of rigor ever in a classroom. Economics was completely different! I remember running into some guys taking Molecular Engineering and all of them were stress-free whereas I was running circles back and forth to office hours. The majority of the students had taken Microeconomics and Macroeconomics before whereas I had no experience with Econ whatsoever. At a point, I felt very depressed because I compared myself with every student in the class, and ranked myself at the very bottom. I spent more time studying but still found it difficult to keep up with the pace of the course. As I started talking more to my mentors, they made me realize that everyone has an absolute advantage in something and for me, it was public speaking. While taking the course, I realized plenty of weaknesses whereas other students learned about their strengths. When one reflects upon his/her weaknesses and aims to improve it, that shows progress. Many of the students came to the course knowing what the teacher was going to teach, thus they did not show as much progress as I did. Moreover, from taking the course alone, I realized I should never compare myself with anyone because it is what I take away from the class, not solely my grade. As I am writing this, I can imagine the differences in my personal values as compared to three weeks ago. I have made progress by a long way. 

I, also, learned about the true value of an education in Economics. Before the start of the course, I knew very little if anything about Econ. As the course assignment, the students were assigned to read, The Why Axis, in which the book connects Microeconomics with Macroeconomics. I had always been interested in how the government makes decisions and the book gave a better insight into Macro-level econ. For instance, it gave a real-life example of the reason people discriminate, the incentive to make a profit, and ways to go about solving this on a personal and governmental level. Furthermore, I learned a great deal about how we can go about improving our educational system - which incentives students react to, how students are more focused, etc. Furthermore, the Microecon book discussed how individual agents can make better choices. The topics we discussed ranged from opportunity cost to budget constraints. These topics apply to many of our personal lifestyles and, if implemented correctly, we can make better and optimal decisions. 

Economics!!

Throughout the 3 weeks, I made a lot of friends. Many of my friends had that hunger for success but also a lot of craziness embedded in them. They wanted to be the next CEO's of Fortune 500 companies. In college, you find people that are very similar to you. While many of us were splitting apart, we all felt really sad but these memories that we created in 3 weeks always stay with us forever. Don always asks us to take a ton of pictures and he does so because these are memories we can reflect upon. Looking 10 years into the future, and we are sharing a drink with one of our friends at work or even our roommate, we can reflect upon many of these memories with just a picture in hand. Maybe our group in snapchat won't die out and will remain forever. Maybe we do decide to meet up in the years to come, we are able to reflect upon the videos and pictures we took. The relationships I made while at UChicago are surely going to last a long time.

Two of my very close friends!

I developed a lot of patience while in Chicago. My parents complain to me and tell me about how impatient I am. Everything that Generation Z demands is literally handed to them. I can only imagine the time it took when writing a paper for a class only 30 years ago - going to the library, talking to the librarians, and opening up the encyclopedias - whereas now Google is our librarian, encyclopedia, and research-hub. Relative to my peers, I have not had everything handed to me as I had to work for it from a young age, but even so I lacked a lot of patience. And while learning more about Econ, I developed the skill a lot. I spent hours and hours, something that I am not used to, figuring out a single problem in our Problem Set whereas at my traditional high school the most it took to solve a problem set was only 30 minutes. This difference in learning allowed me to develop patience and a better work ethic by a long way. 

While at UChicago, I read a chapter in the Dalai Lama's book, The Art of Happiness, after Ivan, my very close friend, recommended me to read a single chapter. It talks about the importance of compassion in our everyday lives. We must place ourselves in the shoes of one another and try to understand each other's point of view so we can lift each other up. I reflected back on the many times where Admiral and Don practiced compassion and how it has impacted all of the ILC'ers. From replying to texts near midnight all the way to lending us items, Don Gosney and John Hillyer, have made my transition to UChicago much smoother. Thank you guys! 

The Ivy League Connection has truly impacted my life. From the many skills I developed to the amazing moments I shared with my friends, the ILC has truly stood by me. I am very grateful for the sponsors, West Contra Costa Unified School District, and the people that made this possible (i.e John, Don, etc.). You all can entrust me to communicate many of my experiences and economic knowledge to my peers, family, and my community so everyone has an opportunity to learn.

This is the start of a new journey! Thank you Ivy League Connection!