BUSY BUSY but good times -

 

Things have been amazingly busy this past week with registration for the spring semester completed, students working HARD on projects and papers and an amazing speaker on campus.  Hudson Taylor was an NCAA champion wrestler who founded Athlete Ally, a nonprofit organization set up to help make playing fields and locker rooms SAFE SPACES for LGBT student-athletes.  As a non-gay champion wrestler, he has a very strong and powerful voice for our student-athletes and thanks to the collaboration (again) of Common Ground, our gay-straight alliance on campus and our Athletic Department, Hudson spoke to all of our student-athletes in two workshops on this past Wednesday.  I had dinner with him and with Mark Litchfield, advisor for Common Ground and a couple of our Common Ground students AND then had the privilege of introducing him to our campus.  Brian Healey '12 was very instrumental in OUR It Gets Better (SaintMichael's CollegeItGetsBetter on YouTube) video last year and he is now an intern with Athlete Ally and he was able to return to campus to join us.  My students' reaction papers reveal that Hudson WAS clearly able to speak with authroity and authenciticy - well done Hudson and thanks for all you do.

Campus is alive with lots and lots of prospective students and their families visiting for this Admission Office Preview Day - I met up with Liz and Jim Howland and their son Ben who has applied to SMC and with their daughter Marguerite who is in the 9th grade.  Liz and Jim met at SMC, were married 21 years ago today and returned to bring their son back for the Preview Day - I was in their wedding 21 years ago and we have remained great friends - life's cycles certainly are interesting.

I was able to head out this morning for some kayaking - this is my 69th birthday and 9 years ago I promised myself that I would kayak on my Birthday IN Vermont as long as I could and so got up this morning and headed out to Indian Brook Reservoir for a chilly but wonderful time kayaking - just one of the many reasons why I love Vermont so much.

In the office grading papers and now heading out to watch the SMC men's ice hockey game - they won last night and I hope they do as well this afternoon...

take care, be well, and please continue to keep all of the victims of Hurricane Sandy as well as all of the members of our military in your thoughts and prayers.

Dave

"Scooter" was in the HOUSE - and the Career Seminar

One of the many, many things I LOVE about working at Saint Mike's is staying in touch with so many of my former students.  After more than 30 years here, I have known my share of wonderful people who are now still in touch.  Craig SCOOTER Callahan and his wife Sarah were up because Scooter was a panelist on the Career Seminar presentations yesterday afternoon and last night.  According to him, it was a HUGE success and he was very impressed that over 100 students showed up on a Friday night to listen to our alums speak about the "real world" out there.  Scooter graduated in 1991 and was excited to have his wife return here to see MORE of what his life had been like here.  We met in my office this morning and then went to Juniors for lunch - we talked about Lags and Harvie (RIP) and Zaf and Pappi and old friends - Scooter and Lags had decided that they really wanted their own radio show on WWPV so entered the lottery for a show but the only time they could get was Saturday morning from 8:00 until noon.  They took it and I occasionally listened in - since they were both, how can I say "active" seniors, Saturday mornings were quite a challenge.  One morning I happened to hear Lags drop the F-bomb on the radio and when the phone in the WWPV booth rang, Scooter said "you answer it Lags, I know it is Landers" - yup it was.......  It was wonderful to see him again, to meet Sarah and to know that his time here is still so important to him.  Scooter is in sales for Viking Appliances and loves his work - he spoke with our students about his journey from SMC to sales and I hope that they listened to the good advice.  He expressed again and again, how impressed he was with OUR current students - not a surprise to me.

Take care, be well, and please keep all those impacted by Hurricane Sandy AND all of the members of our military in your thoughts and prayers - I am still amazed at how many people seem to forget on a daily basis that we have thousands of men and women serving in the Armed Forces in Afghanistan....  I also am still struggling to comprehend the damage from Hurricane Sandy - take good care.

Dave