that there are so many other opportunities out there for them.” And the ILC certainly qualifies as one of those great
opportunities as well.
“With the exception of personal items (toothpaste, souvenirs and the like), the ILC pays for 100% of this experience,”
said Gosney. “For students that are on the free and reduced lunch program (or should be), the ILC even gives the students
a daily stipend so they have walking-around money in their pockets.” And to take it even further, Gosney personally has
about $10,000 worth of loaner items to help these students making the move to college, including laptops, backpacks, bed
sheets, blankets, ponchos, flash drives, and luggage—basically any need that the scholarship recipients can’t meet will be met
by the ILC.
Eligibility requirements are pretty simple: you must have at least a 3.75 GPA, and be a junior or senior enrolled in the
WCCUSD. The application process consists of writing a few brief essays, submitting transcripts and test scores, and then a
carefully selected number of applicants will be interviewed by a panel of community volunteers. They still have to apply to
college, but the Gosney, aka the ILC, will be there to help them with every step of the process.
For more information you can contact Don at (510) 233-2060 or visit ivyleagueconnection.org. Gosney truly believes
that all of the ILC’s students could have figured out this college thing on their own, but of course, “we’re going to take as
much credit as we can get away with.”
NOVEMBER 2017 MARKETPLACECONTRACOSTA.COM 55