The snow is beginning to cover the ground outside of my office window here on second floor St. Ed's and that is fine with me. I pick up my skiis this afternoon after getting them tuned at my favorite local "outdoors" place, the Alpine Shop on Williston Road. While I won't have time to head to the slopes just yet, it is always nice to be prepared. I am not sure that any of us were "prepared" for the wicked wind a couple of days ago which ripped the copper covering off one section of Ross Sports Center and that still has some of my friends/colleagues without electricity - that wind was wicked..... Wicked is also one of the words that some of my students in Theories of Counseling class use about my exams. I just completed the creation of their final and posted a review sheet for them on eCollege. We will complete two more chapters in our textbook this week and then they take their final on the 16th. I expect that they will do well but they always complain (they ARE students after all...) that their hands hurt after writing so much on my exams - ah, music to my ears :)
As we do prepare for the end of another semester I have been reflecting on what a great semester it has been - Students are all registered for their second semester courses and seniors are completing their graduate school applications and so I have a LOT of recommendations to complete - while some find this a chore, I enjoy it. I enjoy being able to put into writing (or as is the case today, online) just how I have been able to watch my students grow and mature over their years here - I get to see progress in their maturity, their writing (most of the time) and their ability to think critically and analyze effectively. Putting all of that into a recommendation is something that I do enjoy and as many of them are getting accepted into graduate schools and they let me know that they have either received an acceptance OR they have been able to obtain employment after commencement the reality that they ARE leaving here hits home. I fully understand that this is the cycle we are all a part of but they sometimes don't understand that we will miss them. One student in particular, has been an effective leader on campus, has impacted all of us who have come to know him and who will be missed sorely by all of us is Dave Vorozilchak. Dave is from Pennsylvania and leaves here in two weeks to return home to a job and a "life after SMC" but he certainly has left his mark not only on our athletic program (he was captain of our men's hockey team last year - and a student member of the Athletic Advisory Council which I chair) but also on his professors in the math/science department as he is an Engineering major. I know that we will stay in touch but I wish him well as he leaves this place he has called home for 4.5 years.
Women's basketball plays at home this afternoon so I had better get back to work before heading over there - Caitlin Quinn is in my Sports Psychology class (she hit 5 - 3 pointers the other day) and Mandy Scott is in Practicum and they are both strong members of our women's basketball team which is headed by the "fabulous" Jen Niebling - Jen is such a positive role model for not only all of the women on her team, but for all of us - good luck ladies....
Once again, and especially as this holiday season comes upon us, I wish you well, please take good care and be good to each other AND please, as always, remember all of the members of our military and their families - those who are NOT home and who are serving all of us in Iraq or Afghanistan need our thoughts and prayers - be safe.....
Dave
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