Atlanta Arrival!

One of my corps members said that he thinks the only other organization in America that might be run more efficiently than TFA is the military.  I don't think the military is quite as efficient.  TFA is a well oiled machine. 

My institute is being held on the lovely Georgia Tech campus. 

We arrived Sunday afternoon around 3pm, were met by a well marked table of staff directing us to parking and bright signs leading the way to registration.  At registrations, we're giving an list of stations that we are supposed to circle through to pick up information, room keys, make optional purchases, etc.  At each station, they have our information organized alphabetically and while one person finds our specific data, another person puts a time-stamps us out on our agenda for that station. 

Our dorm rooms are divine compared to our Induction accommodations.  We each have our own rooms and share a bathroom with only one other person.  I get to eat a buffet every day, which is actually very exciting for me.  And to combat all of my buffet eating, I have joined their awesome gym, which was built for the 1996 summer olympics.

The gym has two pools, a huge floor of machines (as evidenced by the picture above), a rock climbing wall, a jacuzzi, racquet ball courts, and a water slide.  Yes, a water slide. 

After spending about 1 hour on this campus, I was hit with a clearer vision of where I personally fit into the achievement gap that we've been discussing for the past week.  The Georgia Tech campus is larger, more historical, more beautiful, more prestigious than any other campus I've spent time at before.  I knew such places existed, obviously, but to be here in person almost felt like landing in foreign country.  It's so different that the type of school I attended.  Which makes me wonder, why didn't I attend a university like this?  Or at least apply to attend one?  What type of learning opportunities are available to students here that were not available to me at my small state school?  I know that it's possible to have a great education at a small school and a poor education at an ivy league school, depending upon how you apply yourself - but the potential for the best education which leads to best life opportunities seems greater at a more prestigious school.   

There are a number of personal considerations for why I didn't apply to any college outside of the one in my home town: 1) boyfriend in home town, 2) laziness, 3) poor grades from first post-secondary option year.  But there are also a number of other potential other socioeconomic considerations: 1) cost of attendance, 2) not understanding what type of financial aid options might be available, 3) no guidance/help with application process, 4) no push from parents to attend a specific type of school - the fact that I was going to college at all was an accomplishment in their eyes.  I never thought about it during my college years, but I was in fact the first person in my family to graduate from a 4-year college.  My parents were not in a position to navigate me through the college application process, logistically or financially.  

I don't hold any grudge against my parents or the world about my college years in any way.  Clearly, if I had my sh*t together, I could've easily sought out guidance/help needed to overcome relatively small hurdles to at least consider attending a different school; but I didn't, and without it being instilled in me by someone else as a priority - that opportunity passed by without question until today. 

Actually, I am grateful to my parents for a middle class upbringing, placing an emphasis on education, and driving me all over to different extra-curricular, leadership building activities throughout my childhood.  But what about the children whose parents aren't making an income above the poverty line, who don't have a car to take them to extra-curricular activities, who work long hours and aren't home to help them with homework after school - how many opportunities pass these kids by without anyone questioning it?