Today, we welcome guest blogger Ashlea Kennedy, a 2014 Joyce Ivy Summer Scholar from Ohio, who is attending Cornell's 6-week summer program right now.
Ashlea in Ithaca
Hello! My name
is Ashlea Kennedy. I am from Stratton, Ohio, a small village on the Ohio River.
I attend Edison High School, but I am also taking advantage of Ohio’s
Post-Secondary Enrollment Options Program. I take all of my classes at Eastern
Gateway Community College in Steubenville, Ohio for both high school and
college credit. I have racked up 36 credit hours over the past year, and I plan
on graduating with an Associate’s Degree next spring. From there, I will go to
a four-year university to continue my education with the goal of becoming a
physician.
I am attending
Summer College at Cornell University after receiving a scholarship from the
Joyce Ivy Foundation. I will be at Cornell for 6 weeks, studying under their
Biological Research and the Health Professions program and taking a Creative
Writing course and a Cell Biology course. So far, I have found the classwork
challenging, but extremely interesting and exciting.
I arrived on
the Cornell campus in Ithaca, New York on Saturday June 21st, 2014. It was a
very busy day. At first, we drove around campus, completely and helplessly
lost, but finally we found South Balch Hall, which will be my home for the next
6 weeks! A group of RCAs and Cornellian volunteers graciously loaded my
multiple bags onto a cart and took it to my room (on the fifth floor!) on the
elevator. I checked in and got my room and mailbox keys, along with my Cornell
ID card. Then, my mom and I hiked up the 5 flights of stairs while my dad found
a place to park. Parking is scarce here on campus because many people bike,
walk, or take the bus. He joined us at my room to help set it up. Looking
around now, I think we did a fine job. I was a little bummed at first when I
found out that I didn’t have a roommate, but I think there are a lot of pros to
having a single room. I did not meet my sink-mate until later that night. Our
rooms are connected by a small sink room, which is unique to Balch Hall. Her
name is Bin-Bin, but she likes to be called Nettie, and she is Chinese. The
girl across the hall from me is named Marie, and she is from Austria. I have
also met a girl from Italy, several from China, a couple from Thailand, a few
from India, one from Guatemala, and several others from all over the world! I
didn’t realize that it was going to be this diverse, but it definitely enhances
the experience.
On the first
evening, there was an Ice Cream Social in the Balch Hall courtyard for all of
the summer college students. This is just one of the many activities that
Cornell has provided the summer college students for us to get to know one
another. For example, I signed up to help construct the Cornell Summer Times,
which is a summer student-run newspaper. I expect to meet some great people
through this activity. There are lots of opportunities to get involved with
extra-curricular activities at Cornell. The college hosted an activity fair,
where there were tables set up for everything from yoga to quidditch!
Recently, a group of friends
and I traveled into the city to shop and look around. Ithaca is a beautiful
city, and there are many interesting small shops. One of the reasons that I
chose Cornell is that it isn’t in a very urban setting. I like that Cornell
isn’t right in the middle of the city, but more of on the outskirts, because
even though I enjoy shopping and walking around, going to different shops, I
also enjoy being able to hike through the woods and view all of the different
wildlife.
I am so excited to be attending Cornell for the
summer, and couldn’t have attended without the scholarship I received from the
Joyce Ivy Foundation. I also attended the Joyce Ivy Foundation’s Summer
Scholars Gala in Ypsilanti, Michigan in May. I learned so many things at the
Summer Scholars Gala that I now feel more prepared than ever to begin the
college application process. I cannot thank the Joyce Ivy Foundation enough for
everything that they have done for me.
Cornell's famous chimes
Interested in reading more from Ashlea? You can check out her personal blog here with more details about her time at one of Joyce Ivy's partner programs, Cornell Summer College for High School Students.
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