(R) Five Guys Burgers

So I have decided to copy Ernestina by labeling my blogs with my initial so that everyone knows it's Ryan's blog.  Unless, of course, I am misinterpreting Ernestina, and she just puts random letters. Either way, all my blogs from here on out will have the "R" at the beginning. I am hoping that this is original so that I can take credit. Now let's talk about the Board Meeting.

Semi-candid Chicago cohort 

 The board meeting was short and sweet. Mauricio and I got to snag some pizza and water before it started, so there wasn't any stomach growling going on.  The Board we are referring to is the West Contra Costa Unified School District board that oversees all the schools and students.  We were fortunate enough to be scheduled first on a night full of hard hitting topics like finding a new Superintendent of schools.  We were all seated in the front and got called up cohort by cohort. Chicago went second, and Ernestina gave an excellent speech after Ms, Scott introduced us to the Board. After about twenty minutes, we were able to take our group pictures and head out.

It was at this time I realized how little male representation there is this year in the ILC. Compared to seventeen girls, there are only five guys. The fact that Mauricio and I make up 40% of the ILC men is pretty crazy.  After this realization, I got a little bit salty.  We all get to visit two or three schools, and the UChicago cohort will be visiting Northwestern and Washington University in St. Louis.  These are great schools, and I am excited to visit, but my dream is to see Columbia University. Two of the other cohorts are visiting Columbia, so I felt the salt shaking out onto me immediately. (So Don, if you're reading this, maybe we can pull some strings and get ourselves a third visit ;]) Just wishful thinking.

I enjoyed the Board meeting because we were able to thank the people that make this experience possible directly. Also, Chicago has the coolest school flag so we got to flex a little. Everyone received us very well, and I hope that means there will be continued support in the future. The countdown gets lower and lower. Can't wait to get out there.

All the Hercules ILCers. Komal is the third from the left and will be attending
Brown University. Jahnvi is the farthest right and is going to Vanderbilt. They
also have blogs that I recommend checking out!