Joys of September

Is tomorrow really October? Since the answer to that question is yes, I want to take time out to reflect on the joys of September:

*Connections with fabulous faculty members at Washington U: Professors Jim Davis, Dan Shea, Tili Boon Cuille, Asad Ahmed, Andrew Rehfeld, Lutz Koepnick, Jami Ake, Joe Thompson, Ian MacMullen, Seema Dahlheimer, and Erin McClothlin to name a few. I feel incredibly fortunate to have many opportunities to get to know such fascinating and inspiring people.

*Connections with amazing students: the Brookings Seminar--my 10 first year advisees, Nick Wilbar--sophomore advisee from KY--, Coffee 'N Controversy students, Jodi Smith and Pamela Talley--senior advisees, Lucy Moore--junior advisee, Jasmine--sophomore advisess, and RA training committee. I love connecting with students in both intentional and informal ways.

*Connections with family: it was fabulous to go to KY over the weekend to celebrate with Roth and the whole Stratton crew. And to get some AWESOME news from Merri...more on that very soon! :)

*Connections with friends and colleagues: Tom and Valerie, RA alums, trivia night, Martha, Cathy, Alicia, Ginny, Steve, Helen, Tim, Josh, Erin, Katherine, and Mary (and Mary's parents!) Thank you!

Fun opportunities: dinner with Elizabeth Kolbert, the Idea Bounce, visit by Chris Johnson, Super Heroes Assembly, the egg drop, CS40 Retreat, the Danforth University Center and seeing Alan Alda, dinner with Jake, Justin, and Megan, and Psych. 105.

**Holly, kitties, the first taste of fall, and turning papers in!


The creative journey continues!

The Joys of RA Alums!

One of the things that brings me such joy is the opportunity to connect and reconnect with RA alumni. Over the last couple of weeks, I have had the great joy to reconnect with RA alums Stephen Sabin, Debbie Busler and Pat Woolley.

Stephen is currently a psychologist in San Francisco and was recently in St. Louis for a 48 hour trip to visit his family. I was lucky enough that he remembered my office phone number (which has not changed in the 15 years that I have been at Washington University.) He pulled the number out of his memory and called me randomly from Brookings Quad. I actually happened to be in my office and was delighted to see Stephen's name come up on caller ID. It was a lot of fun to spend some time with him and his brother Andrew.

Debbie and Pat were on my very first RA staff at Washington University during the 1993-1994 school year--Debbie on Umrath 2 and Pat on Umrath 3. Fifteen years later, they have been a couple ever since. They were in the US for a most joyous occasion: their wedding! They got married on Sept. 5 in San Francisco and made it all official (even though in their world view, their relationship had been "official" all along!)

I've been pondering having a HUGE RA alumni reunion in the very near future. Any takers???

A Joyous Occasion

Last Saturday, I attended the wedding of two fabulous people: Tom Borcher and Valerie Louis. Tom was a senior at Transylvania University when I was a freshman. He and I have stayed in touch for these last 20 years, and it was an honor to be included in his wedding.

Tom has always struck me as such a thoughtful, compassionate, brilliant, and loyal person. Throughout the last 20 years, he has continued to demonstrate his dedication to his friends and family, his service to the community, and his kindness and generosity to all whom he encounters.

I met Valerie for the first time in January when I was in Cincinnati for my doctoral residency. I liked her immediately. Her passion, her commitment to social justice, her direct style of communication, her loyalty to her family, and her intelligence really impressed me. And she was just really fun to be around.

Their wedding ceremony reflected these collective values--this merging of two unique people with vastly different backgrounds. Even though their backgrounds and family histories may be different, their common beliefs and values knit their heart and souls together in such a magnificent way.

It was a joy to share in this occasion with them and to read a passage about beauty in the ceremony--because Tom and Valerie exemplify two beautiful souls joined together by strength, light, and love.

Advising Joys: The Brookings Seminar

For the last seven years, I have served as a Four Year Academic Advisor in Arts and Sciences. Each year, I have the opportunity to work with 5 first year students to assist them with their transition to Washington University. And the joy of this process is that I stick with them for four years!

This year, I took on TEN freshman advisees and have structured my time with them in a more intentional way. I am affectionately referring to my group as the "Brookings Seminar" because they all live in Lien House in Robert S. Brookings Residential College. Their photo is above, and so far--it has been quite a joy getting to know them.

We will meet for the first 8 weeks of the semester, twice in November, and have a celebration dinner in December. Why am I doing this and why am I asking them to join me in this adventure? It goes back to a few things: "Flow" and "Connection"!

My thought process goes something like this: If I were going to invest the time and energy to get to know them so I can be an effective, helpful advisor, I wanted to build the relationship on the front end. Knowing my advisees by name and story is important to me, and through regular contact and connection--I believe this to be more possible. Furthermore, there are topics to cover with them that will foster their personal and academic success. The weekly seminar provides an effective format for delivering that information.

And....I discovered that my advisees enjoy food: thus--another way to connect with them!