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| Ah, Windy City... I miss you. Hope to see you... soon. :) |
My first Summer getaway with my Grad School friends in Ithaca, New York happened about a decade ago. It was a long drive from NY to Chicago. We were in a three-van convoy - all provided by Cornell, plus a car driven by the guys who wanted to stay a bit longer in the Windy City. We attended the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Meeting + Expo... volunteering for the event, supporting those of us who were in the various competitions, cheering on those who were presenting papers and posters among us, meeting Cornell Alumni, joining Students Congress and partying (for free) in Company Mixers, and listening to excellent, excellent lectures/presentations by our brilliant professors, scientists and industry practitioners. It was an amazing experience!
My last Summer getaway with my former peers in Grad School in New York happened a couple of years back. It was a looong trip from Manila to Chicago... to attend the IFT Meeting + Expo. It was so worth it! Some of us were the ones who were giving the lectures/talks already that time, while some of us were judges in the students competition. :) We all attended the Cornell Alumni event - as alumni, reaching out to students. We still partied (for free) in Company Mixers... but we had enough money of our own to dine somewhere nice and fancy. :) And yes, we still enjoyed those excellent, excellent lectures/presentations by our former professors, scientists who are our role models, and industry practitioners (some are from our group).
Yep, 'dorks' - that's what we were, that's what we are now... I don't think that'll change anytime soon either. :)
Ah, Windy City... thanks for the memories. And, yep, I'm ready for new ones! Are you? :)
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