GO! Gala!

I was going to just put this all in my last post, but it got too long... plus it deserves its own post anyways!

This past Saturday was the GO! Gala where all people over 21 (mostly Seniors and alum) can attend a lovely evening where the scholarship receipents get there scholarship awards, there is dinner, lots of drinking... and lots of dancing ensues. If you are an underclassman... do a GO trip just for the GO! gala. $50 was a bit steep for the event but it was so totally worth it in the end, plus I ended up knowing a lot of people there.

I was a bit nervous going because none of the other Seniors from Ecuador were going to it... considering the price, but I wanted to be there to get my awards so I sucked it up. One of my chaperones, Danielle, ended up being there, as well as my leader from my Mexico trip and a bunch of other people! I was so happy to know someone.

At the beginning of the night I was asked to sit with the Aquilone family and Michael, the gentleman I had the interview with, and I was so glad I did, as I thought we would have NOTHING to talk about. They were absolutely the sweetest people ever. I'm sure they definitely raised a great son, and I am sad they lost him at such a young age. Mrs. Aquilone had gone to Fordham to get her masters in Social Work, and she had so many stories to tell. I was able to learn about the volunteer work she now does, as she is retired, and what the social work scene is like. We talked about adoption for a while and how much the system has changed since she started, and I was just so enlightened. One other girl also received the award with myself, and so it was great to meet someone at Fordham that I had not before.

Once the awards and dinner came to and end, the Aquilone's went home, and the dancing began. With drinks in hand (no worries... we are all 21), we all hit the dance floor... and as per the rumor, Paul Francis got his groove on. Multiple Fordham administrators joined us on the dance floor and we all broke it down, plus one of my other co-workers from ram van got one of our bosses out to dance with us!

Definitely better than I expected it to be, and I am glad it was! :)
Ciao

SURPRISE!!!

(well... not this much).

So almost a week and a half ago I had an interview for the Peter Aquilone scholarship. It is given out every year to 2 people who attend a GO! trip in Winter or over Spring Break, that exemplify the qualities that Peter exemplified before his unfortunate death in 2003.

I made the hike in between classes to W. 172nd and... some random street that I had never heard of. Some how I made it there via the bus, which I have never taken a long distance before, and found the office of Michael, one of Peter's friends from Fordham undergrad. I didn't really know how to act and considering the crappy weather, wasn't really in a good mood, but managed to be myself and be happy, and act like I really did want to be there (well I did... but ya know).

Anyways, I thought the interview went really well and he told me that the recipients would know by Thursday (it was Monday). Thursday came and went, and I never heard from him. I went home for Easter break and just assumed that I did not get the scholarship. My mom wrote me a check for the remainder of the payment due and I handed it in on Wednesday. On Thursday I talked to one of my professors about the interview and what I could have done wrong... I thought I really had messed up!
Friday afternoon, after returning from my internship and having just spent my last $30 on groceries, I got a phone call from Michael, who apologized for not having contacted me. He told me that he wanted to offer me the scholarship and asked that I attend the GO! gala the next weekend. I was SO excited and honestly did not believe him... I kept saying: "you are kidding, right?!" Funny thing is, right as he was saying it, my phone cut out and I asked him to repeat what he had said. He thought I just wanted to hear him say it again!

Anyways, I am so happy to be getting some money back from all that I have put towards this trip and even happier that I got chosen for the scholarship!