Gabe Vasquez does not comprehend how uncommonly talented he is. I believe he knows he's talented, but I don't think he understands how his particular brand of talent is extremely rare - at least in Iowa and, really, most other parts of the world.
While Gabe is a college student by day, he is an artist all the time, for it isn't possible to abandon artistic abilities, either willingly or on a whim. An artist is who a person is, not what he or she creates.
Gabe is an artist; his muse speaks through graffiti art. Gabe can see an image in his mind and then spray a spectrum of hues on a wall to bring his vision to life. Vivid, vibrant, intense, captivating.
I had heard of Gabe before but did not meet him until tonight. I listened as he told about coming from El Paso to Waldorf College as a business major and how - after a few semesters - he realized he needed to change majors. I heard him acknowledge that painting is his passion, and I sensed that he is never happier than when he has a can of spray paint in his can, bringing a small, rough sketch to life in super-sized proportions.
A wrestler, Gabe is familiar with the struggle of pinning a human to a mat. The give and take of those matches is shaped by pairing competitors of similar weight. However, when facing an unadorned wall that awaits transformation, Gabe's struggle is his alone. The give and take occurs inside himself. Only he can bring forth what is held in his mind. Only he can chose the colors and then wave strokes of brilliance into patterns, effectively pinning paint to the wall.
I hope Gabe doesn't end up in a career directly tied to any major he receives at college. After he earns his degree, I hope Gabe finds a way to follow his passion - to create art with the capacity to transform lives. If that's what happens, his college days will have been well spent.
.
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Thanks, Mark Newcom, for teaching in a way that makes this kind of learning possible. I learned a lot tonight. I can only imagine the other lessons happening along the way.
Life has an ebb and flow. A yin and yang, if you will. In academia, that can be illustrated in many ways. However, one of the most profound ways for me each year is when one class of students graduates, then only weeks later another arrives.
Quite a few of this year's class left right after graduation in May. However, a handful of students - those who took their studies as part of Waldorf College's three-year communications degree - completed their 8th semester this past week. And, like every year before, we enjoyed a celebration barbecue with them in our tree house to honor their accomplishments. Also as in years past, we were pleased to have a reason to spend just a little more time with our graduates before each one drove off campus for the last time as a student.
I have yet to meet the incoming freshmen. But I know fairly well those who just graduated and left Waldorf College to encounter their future: Brandon Aschinger, Andrew Blum, Mary Dickman, Robert Farland, Andrew Johnson and Tyler Snell. Thank you for sharing your lives with us. We are richer for it. Please keep in touch. We will love to learn where life leads you.
May heaven's richest blessings, crown every passing year.
It’s been more than a week since I had lunch with Christina Calgaard-Maulsby, Waldorf College class of 2002, and her adorable son, Quentin. I still don’t know what I want to say to adequately express the dynamics of what I think and feel.
The relationships Mark and I forge with former students are as unique as the relationships we had with them during their time in our classrooms. We have found that the students are the ones who set the dynamics, as it should be. Yet life shapes those relationships as well.
A teacher cannot help being affected by watching the way a young man or woman deals with the chronic illness of a parent, the death of a parent or close friend, news that mom and dad are divorcing, news that mom or dad are moving or have lost a job, the sudden awareness that they might be an addict or anorexic or bulimic, the realization they are pregnant and life will never be the same, the realization they are gay and they simply cannot pretend one day more.
Then there are the times I witness life circumstances reflected through their eyes – like the year my Editing class surprised me with a card filled with personal notes of encouragement the day before we were to take Stross for an unplanned surgery. Or the time my PR Skills class joined with Mark’s Electronic Field Production class to give us a gift certificate for a classy date night because they wanted us to take more time for ourselves. Or when yet another year’s Editing class supported a classmate with a teenaged daughter and an elementary-aged daughter through her husband’s untimely death from prostate cancer.
I learn so much about life from those I am privileged to meet in my various classrooms.
But somehow, I think, Christina is in still another category – one of … see, this is where words fail me. Probably because her life has found a way to emotionally pierce mine. While her life choices and life events have not mirrored mine fully, they do reflect emotions of paths I’ve taken. As a student, Christina drank in the knowledge and experiences I had to offer. She had a natural inclination for the field of public relations and marketing, and after she graduated, she never looked back. Not once. She had chosen her career path well and was enjoying every minute of what it allowed her to do and become.
After working as a college recruiter for a year, she became the marketing coordinator for a bank in southern Minnesota, coordinating all the internal and external marketing efforts for its 11 locations. Then she headed to Florida where she worked for an advertising agency before landing a job as the marketing officer for TIB Bank in Naples. Here she really got a taste of the corporate world, taking on all that comes with a bank buy-out.
Christina led the efforts necessary to merge the bank’s identities, crafting a plan that had customers from the bank that was being purchased able to talk directly to the president new organization if their questions were not adequately answered immediately by the customer service representative she had placed in each branch office. All this occurred the day the signs were changed and the announcement simultaneously made. She proudly told me they only lost two customers in the branch she was in that morning, and those individuals had planned to pull their money for other reasons anyway. In fact, the whole transition went smoothly and much of the success was credited to her. It was likely one of the reasons she was named as one of the 40 under 40 to watch in the local media then. (BTW: She’s only 30 now.) Also, she and her husband, Grant, served as mentors to children in the foster care system through the area’s Footsteps to the Future program. Christina even served on its board.
While all that is wonderful, it’s not so different from what other alumni have accomplished in other ways in the communities where they live and work. What has me connecting most to Christina these days is part of her motherhood story: Quentin was injured in the home of the woman she had chosen as Quentin’s care provider. Over our recent lunch I relived our horror as she shared her own. And while these matters are always horrific, Quentin’s ordeal is especially so. I will not go into the details here, as there is a child abuse court case pending. But I have blogged about it before, and you can find Christina’s story and links to news reports here. I think the thing that has me most awestruck, is that I am watching Christina navigate a version of life so far removed from normal that the vast majority simply cannot comprehend its layered complexity. And she’s doing it beautifully.
I remember instinctively employing my organizational skills to take on my new version of life checklist by checklist; I see her doing something similar. It is how you merge two banks into one identity; it is how you merge your former way of life with a vastly different one. And note: That last feat is to merge “with” not “into” – there is a difference. For unlike a bank or a company, your identity is forever part of who you are – a child of God seeking to glorify the image of God no matter what you do, where you go or what happens to you.
Christina, you once gave me a book as a thank you for what you had learned from me in the classroom. I look forward to discovering along with you all the new things life has for us – you, Grant and Quentin; and me, Mark, Skye and Stross. I hope you find something of value in the book I have given you.
Blessings to you my, friend. Don’t ever hesitate to call me – ever.
I broke one of my "rules for living" tonight. I took someone up on a dare. Actually a double-dog dare. And, actually, it was made by three someones. Three Waldorf College alumni, all former students from three different class years who were in town to spend time together with still more alumni at, well, let's just call it a local libations establishment.
The double-dog dare came via a Facebook post - a public calling out of sorts - from Josh Damm, Melanie Lane and Ryan Workman.
When I showed it to Mark: "What do you think I should do?" He, who had just returned from washing our van, answered: "I think you should go. Just don't drive the car on gravel."
Ummm ... not a problem. So off I went, enticed by the idea of witnessing their utter surprise that teetotaller me would actually show up and enticed by the opportunity to see what really happens when they all get together. (Well, the little bit I got to see.)
None of us was disappointed. (At least I don't think so.) They got the thrill of calling me out, and I got the thrill of their delighted reaction. Josh and Melanie have both made an Injoy Blog before, so tonight was Ryan's turn.
Ryan has been working as the sports information director at Coe College since graduating in 2006. I remember him setting that goal as a student and watching him earn his way to his dream job after writing numerous Lobbyist articles, producing many WAL-TV sports shows and broadcasting countless KZOW remotes at Warrior athletic events.
Those are proud moments for educators. Not that we can take credit when a student lands a coveted first job, because it is a student's individual drive to succeed that makes the difference. The pride comes from watching a student seize opportunities that help him or her gain the experiences necessary to make a dream become a reality. As an educator, I know that any position I play is simply background noise during that student's center court press. (Pretty pathetic, huh, Ryan? You could have written something sporty much better.)
Anyway, please allow me to introduce you to Mr. Ryan Workman, a great guy and a skilled sports information director who will, I'm confident, wear a national title ring someday - if not for a Coe team, for an athletic team at an even bigger college.
And, Melanie, thanks for the camera work. (Yes, Josh, you could have done a good job, too. But as you know, Melanie actually took the class.) Also, the vlog has shout-outs to Mary Ann Mitchell Tierney, Lauri Pyatt, and Kevin DeVries. Oh! And the cameo appearances are by alumni Andrew Hunt and Whitney Hagen. They'll get their vlog one day too.
This past week I enjoyed one of life's full circle moments. I sat in a classroom where I was learning from a former student. I have always asserted that I would proudly learn from, and even work for, many of the students who I've been privileged to meet when collaboratively learning in my classroom. This past Tuesday I had that opportunity, courtesy of Kelli Linn-Bloomquist, the woman who invited me to a workshop she has designed for our nation's homeland security needs, and Teeg Stouffer, the man who taught the workshop. Because of them, rural first responders will be able to do the best job possible when fulfilling their duties as public information officers during emergency situations. Kelli did a super job designing the course, and Teeg did a super job teaching it.
Teeg has the heart of a teacher, and no where is that more evident than the work he does through Recycled Fish. Recycled Fish, a nonprofit organization Teeg founded just a few years ago along with Waldorf College classmate Ryan Libby (class of '98), highlights his educational skills at all levels. Through countless ways, he communicates about lifestyle stewardship. It's evident that Teeg's passion palpates to the pace of the environmental pulse. He has the heart of an angler and understands what it means to fish downstream.
What began as a desire to encourage catch and release fishing has grown to something far more, as you can see below.
Recycled Fish is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that started out talking about Catch and Release, but it’s bigger than that now. We’re a national movement of anglers who live and promote a lifestyle of stewardship both on and off the water.
We’re doing stuff like putting in low flow shower heads and changing how we care for our lawns, because that stuff matters to fisheries as much or more than catch and release.
If we want more and bigger fish in our waters, now and for our kids, the choices we make every day matter because our lifestyle runs downstream.
Today, Recycled Fish has more than 12,000 members worldwide and is growing. But it never would have existed at all without Teeg's passion and vision - along with the support of good friends and an incredibly supportive life partner, Amy Ruter Stouffer, Waldorf College class of '99.
As you'll hear in the vlog, Teeg and Amy, his wife, have shared life in incredibly adventuresome ways. Once they even sold or stored all their possessions in order to head out on the road, working in promotions together as a team. Now, they remain a new kind of team. While Teeg works for the health of the world's waterways through Recycled Fish, Amy helps "inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees," through the Arbor Day Foundation. (And you know our family has a soft spot for trees and tree houses!)
Our lives - Mark's and mine - have been intersecting with the lives of former students fairly frequently these days. These seemingly regular encounters have come as unexpected, yet timely, blessings, sustaining us as we continue to navigate upstream. As Teeg reminded me lately - in more ways than he likely intended - our lifestyles run downstream.
May I seek to live in a way that helps sustain the lives of those who follow after. Amen. May it indeed be so.
While this blog is about Gabriella "Gabby" Gonzales, it could just as easily be about any of the students who graduated from Waldorf College this year after having given us the privilege of getting to know them as they learned in our classrooms. It's about Gabby, because she came to our home on Tuesday to say goodbye shortly before leaving town. Not every student takes the time to do such a thing, but when one does, we always feel blessed by his or her visit. It gives us an opportunity to mark the moment with that student–to acknowledge this significant milestone and promise that we will stay in touch. (And we try really hard to.)
The visit alone - beyond anything said during the visit - acknowledges that we shared life together, and it made a difference to all of us.
Gabby arrived at Waldorf College a few short years ago and soaked up as much of the college experience as possible. She played soccer, led KZOW as station manager, and helped WAL-TV as well. She also immersed herself in many other college experiences while learning as much as she could about the communications profession. As you'll hear in the vlog, she has a career in mind now along with a plan for how she can begin to make it possible.
And so, Gabby is heading back to California, back to her home state - her home town - feeling a bit like she's leaving home. That's simply what happens when you go to college. You create a temporary home, and end up surprised at how much you permanently care about it. Even if it has a lot of snow (blizzards!) and tornadoes.
Thanks for sharing the best of yourself with us during your time here, Gabby. I hope you felt like we gave you the best we had to offer as well. We - and Waldorf College - are better for having had you here.
Today our family had the privilege of sharing lunch with Mr. John Eliason, Waldorf College class of 2009. He was in town to capture wedding images of Samantha Langerud and Steven Boucher.
John, always smiling, brought us up to date on many things in his life, including how much he enjoys his work as a corporate video producer for Fastenal, headquartered in Winona, Minn. For those who may not know, Fastenal operates as an industrial supply network with more than 2,500 locations in the United States and Canada. They also sponsor NASCAR No. 60 Fastenal Ford driver, Carl Edwards.
It was simply super to see how happy John is - staying in touch with his wonderful Camp Wapo, making wedding videos for friends, taking photos of friends and landscapes, living in beautiful Winona, and working at Fastenal. We were glad he wanted to make time to touch base with us.
Thanks, John. We will heed your closing admonition to "stay classy" and trust Waldorf College to - just as you asked - do the same.
Kelli Linn was back in Forest City today. More significantly, back in the land of Waldorf College.
She's Kelli Linn-Bloomquist now, a married mother of three young children (the newest just 3 months old). Kelli works as the coordinator of the Homeland Security Training Center located on the campus of Iowa Central Community College. In her role, she is responsible for coordinating media training opportunities for those working in government security positions across the state of Iowa - soon across the United States.
Kelli has an extensive media background, having worked in multiple media roles, and I regret I didn't take the opportunity to learn more about those vast experiences in the short time we met for lunch at Scoopy Doos today. It was simply more fun to reminisce about her days at KZOW, connect on what it feels like to be a working mom, and compare our concerns and hopes for our individual futures.
She confessed to feeling nervous about coming back; I've heard that before. As other alumni have shared, coming back to Waldorf - a place that has played a significant role during formative moments - isn't always easy. The rush of emotions that floods in can threaten to overwhelm. I know that feeling myself. I've had trips back to my alma mater, Wartburg College, where I have entered the Waverly city limits busily wiping tears.
I hope Kelli felt like she came home today - and not the literal kind of coming home - the kind of coming home that finds you meeting yourself as you were once-upon-a-time. Those experiences are empowering. They give you the hope you need to carry who you are now into the future.
As Kelli herself in advises in the video, "The biggest thing in life is just to show up." Wonderful advice, Kelli. And I agree. If you don't start by showing up, nothing else can hope to happen.
Kelli, it was wonderful to have lunch with you. Thank you.
As always, I continue to look forward to what might come next.
Those of you who have read Involuntary Joy might understand how my husband's place of employment (which has also been, at times, mine as well) has shaped our lives in the same way a person would. Our arrival on campus – almost exactly 17 years ago – felt a bit like coming home. The "call" to kinship with her DNA was undeniable. And so, we uprooted our lives, trading old dreams for new ones in order to share a future that we believed was full of promise.
Before I write much more, I feel the need to share this: Waldorf College is one of the easiest and, paradoxically, most difficult topics for me to write about. When I've had the opportunity to write copy for marketing or public relations pieces, the words flow easily, for I know Waldorf intimately and honor the wonder of her, cherishing the personal transformations that have occurred on her campus since her beginnings in 1903.
This is not that kind of piece; therefore, my task is exponentially more difficult–as difficult as writing about a family member and wanting it to be "just right." Doubting that is possible, I'll forge ahead anyway.
As the fruit of Lutheran education (Go, Wartburg Knights!), I have lived my adult life in kinship with all sister institutions as if they were members of the family. Because I grew up United Methodist, I never really thought much about my spiritual heritage (I was baptized Lutheran) until I was courted by the admissions staff at Wartburg College. And then, thanks to encouragement from then President Robert Vogel, I soon forsake scholarship packages from other institutions for the chance to become a Wartburg Knight – a decision that had my Lutheran godmother, Aunt Lois, rejoicing. Once transplanted on the Wartburg campus, it was as if a seed had found the soil it needed to grow deep roots and flourish.
You see, I know what it means to "Be Orange." But I also know what it means to "Live Purple." Waldorf College ... what am I to do with you? You helped bring some of my husband's vocational dreams to life and coaxed me into the classroom. You didn't seem aware that I'd vowed to not follow in my educator parents' footsteps. And, yet, I became an educator in spite of myself – all because you needed someone to teach the knowledge and skills I enjoyed using while employed in a career I loved.
So, year after year, as young men and women found their way to campus to discover their individual callings, my roots stayed watered and even deepened. I felt myself growing with Mark and, in turn, both of us felt strengthened by colleagues who shared a vision for educating "the whole person" in an atmosphere where faith and reason divinely mingled.
In recent years, the people who are Waldorf College have experienced personal pruning and even transplanting – each event as difficult as the circumstances that are represented by the change. For instance, this summer our family will say good-bye to friends who have lived in this community for 26 years – nine years longer than we have. They came as a couple and have raised four children here. We have been in a Bible study with them for more than a decade and have celebrated our children's confirmations, graduations, and various school accomplishments. We have grieved together. We have been frustrated at life together. We have been awed by life together. Now they are moving on - transplanting their lives to a place where they can continue to be nourished and grow. It's not as if we have never seen people come and go from this fascinating place. We have. In fact, when we arrived 17 summers ago, we were taken under wing by several elderly couples who had recently retired from Waldorf. The kind of emerita and emeritus (now no longer living) whose names and spirits are infused in the hearts of thousands of alumni. They saw Waldorf through some of her darkest days and believed we had come to help her transition into an expression that would help her withstand unforeseen days to come (i.e., changing from a junior college into a baccalaureate institution).
Their tutelage testified to us in recent years when we needed it most - when our roots felt exposed, and we wondered what remained for us in this place they had built with love. As the ground shifted under us, we wondered: How deep do our roots go? How much nourishment do we require? Are we healthy enough to withstand inclement times? I even found myself wondering if I was more like a hosta or a rose – or if it even mattered.
I still don't really know.
Whenever Mark and I hear of another friend who has decided to uproot – to transplant their life in a place with soil that promises rich nourishment – we look for the sun and stretch to search for water. Are we still able to flourish where we are planted, or are we in denial about the condition of our garden?
This past week we got some unsolicited nourishment from two former students - Melanie Lane, class of '07, (the first vlog) and Justin Hawley, class of '99 (the second vlog). We had a chance encounter with Melanie, who works at Mayo Clinic, in the Rochester subway, just outside our favorite lunch spot. She joined us for lunch, bringing stories and memories full of life and light and love. And when she spontaneously thanked us and shared what we have meant in her life, I cried. I didn't know how much I needed to hear what she said.
Obviously, I didn't ask her repeat what she said for my vlog and I won't type her kind words verbatim here (even I am not that tacky), but I did ask her to repeat a story she shared about her volleyball coaching experience. Waldorf communication alums, you'll see why.
When we got back to Stross' clinic exam room, I posted on Facebook that we had run into Melanie during lunch. That generated a posting with an offer to share dinner from Justin Hawley, another communications alum who has transplanted to Rochester, Minn., where he is flourishing. And, fortunately, we were able to – almost as spontaneously – make that reunion happen as well. Then, during dinner he, too, volunteered extremely kind words about Mark and I in an expression of affirming gratitude.
I've spent a lot of time tending to my garden this week - figuratively, of course. Perhaps Mark has too. We both seem to need reassurance that our lives are still in a place where we can - not just grow - but flourish.
Hey, Waldorf College Communications alumni. If we haven't told you lately, please know that we love you. Your lives continue to nourish ours. We are grateful. Many blessings to you - each and every one.
Andre' Franco and Eva Mills met when freshmen at Waldorf College in Forest City, Iowa. He needed a math tutor; she was the tutor. They got married May 8, one week after graduation.
Mark Newcom and Joy Bowden met when juniors at neighboring colleges. He began to bus her tables during their shift as singing waiters; she looked for opportunities to stand next to him when a song required a male partner. They got married 14 days after he graduated from the University of Northern Iowa and five days after she graduated from Wartburg College.
Sometimes you discover that you have fallen in love with your best friend, and that what you are like when together seems exponentially more wonderful than even your most wonderful day spent apart.
You may even realize that your best friend is your soul mate.
You may even - one day - get to live a storybook romance that leads to a story book wedding.
Best wishes to you both - Andre' and Eva - from both of us. Thank you for having shared in our lives and for allowing us to celebrate this wonderful day with you.
Many blessings as you continue sharing life together - only now as husband and wife.
Every spring for the past 16 years, Mark and I have celebrated commencement with a promising class of men and women at Waldorf College. For many of those years, we celebrated twice: in April for those graduating with an associates in arts degree and in July for those graduating with a bachelor of arts.
On this first day of May, we watched 117 students celebrate the kind of beginning that only comes from a successful ending. They earned a college degree in a field that matches their interests and, I hope, their vocational passion.
Bittersweet? A little. Wistful? Nostalgic? Yes, a little of both of those, too. But mostly we are this: proud.
Thank you, Graduates. Thank you for choosing to attend Waldorf College and for entrusting us with your education. It has truly been a privilege to share in your lives and to watch you mature in understanding. We look forward to learning where life takes you. Please stay in touch. May heaven's richest blessings crown every passing year.
Mark doesn't get to talk shop often because very few are able to understand what he does. Plus, when he comes home, he is reminded that my technological vocabulary is significantly deficient, and my technological knowledge is near non-existent.
I imagine Mark as a bit lonely – professionally speaking - and even somewhat of an enigma to his colleagues. Therefore, when he launches into an explanation of his latest technological problem-solving feat, I, his primary attentive audience, attempt to respond appropriately and even feign enthusiasm when I feel lacking of any genuine kind.
As a lover of authenticity, I make these conversations with Mark an exception to my policy for authentic living – but for good reason: Mark knows I'm faking it. So that makes my reaction authentic. Yes? The greater good is served. Mark gets to fuel his excitement of accomplishment, and I get to share in his wonderful state of intelligent euphoria.
He amazes me. I think he always will.
Anyway, when Pete showed up Thursday for an unannounced visit, Mark got to talk shop with Pete for a bit after he toured the radio, television and multimedia labs. I got to catch up with Pete too, but my questions are not at all technical as you'll see in this vlog. Plus, you will get to witness one of the most laid back individuals I have ever, ever - let me even add one more - ever known.
Listen for these remarks to naturally flow from Pete during conversation: "Aw, that's Ok." "Don't worry about it." "I'm not too concerned." "Thanks. I try."
There were more, but that's all I caught in our brief vlog together. I should have taken video of him sauntering down a hallway too. I'm not sure what would ever make Pete move quickly. I am not even confident that something catastrophic would. Pete is just that laid back.
Great to see you, Pete! Please continue to stay in touch.
BTW: Aaron Peterson, Waldorf College BA class of 1995, received one of the first baccalaureate degrees awarded in the college's history. I regard he and his five communications classmates as true pioneers. Thanks for staying to learn with us. .
I'm pleased to offer you yet another in my ongoing series of alumni talk vlogs. (These are soooo fun!) This time it's Bill Middeke.
Bill was known by some as Wild Bill when he walked the hallowed halls of Waldorf College as one of the class of 2000. Today he's an award-winning broadcast journalist who can boast he's earned an Edward R. Murrow Award, a national award given to broadcast news journalists and organizations by the Radio-Television News Directors Association in honor of the revered journalist - noted for honesty and integrity - who is its namesake. (Sorry, probably pushing run-on sentence status, but I'm gonna leave it.)
As for Bill, the "wild" in his nickname had more to do with his college wrestling career than his academic or social endeavors. Today, there's nothing wild about the way this dedicated journalist - now married to a wonderful veterinary assistant named Kari - chooses to spend his afternoon off each week. In fact, I'd describe it as far more extraordinary than wild. You see, for the past six years, Bill has driven to campus from either Des Moines or Minneapolis/St. Paul (and some weeks through crazy Midwest weather) to help Mark bring his broadcast journalism classes to life for the fortunate students enrolled in those extremely hands-on courses.
Bill is currently a photojournalist for KARE 11 (Minneapolis/St. Paul). I leave it to him to fill you in on the high points of his career during the vlog.
Bill, please accept a personal thank you from me for this very unselfish act. You live an example of service to our students. I know that Mark deeply enjoys having you as part of the classroom experience (and as a cohort on his not-so-clandestine trips to Hardees for the famous "Mark's onion burger" lunches).
Hey, former broadcast students, you'll love the opening of this video. I promise. It's one of those rare (ok, not-so-rare) Mark and Joy moments caught on tape.
I think I'm up to the fifth in a series of who knows how many alumni vlogs. In the past few months, I've had the privilege of taping interviews with Tali (Salberg) Paulson, Ryan Daniel, Chase Chisholm, Kris Schlieper, and now, Alex Duffey, class of 2008. In today's vlog we touch on (among other things) iMovie, Flip, FinalCut Pro and Portland.
It's always so good to reconnect with men and women who have been former students no matter how many years have passed. And what a great use of technology, huh? As I say in my conversation with Alex, this is part of the future of public relations. Count on it! That's why I'm proud our public relations graduates must take electronic courses to learn the basics. You gotta be an integrated communicator these days. (And probably good to avoid posting words like "gotta.")
I hope the classmates of those I've posted have enjoyed seeing the conversations and hearing what's happening in the lives of those they hung out with in the multimedia lab for ___ (should the word be hours, days, weeks, months, years?). We recorded today's vlog in a local student (and alumni) hot spot. In fact, this fine establishment is celebrating it's 10th anniversary this year. Incredible. I'm confident you'll recognize it.
Please continue to touch base with us when you come to town – or via Facebook, email, occasional cell calls, etc. I know you've probably held onto our numbers; we probably still have you in our phones too. (Well, Mark did terminally drop his phone recently. Not good. So sad.)
Don't be surprised if I try to coax you into a vlog when you're here. Wouldn't it be fun if the number I'm able to record hits triple digits one day? We've had plenty of alumni go through the hallowed halls of Waldorf College to accomplish that. May you know that your greatest passion is fulfilling some of the world's deepest needs.
I'm not sure there is a word for the blessing you experience when a former student comes back to update you on his or her life. "Honored" is perhaps the most comprehensive, for it is indeed an honor to share someone's life - both the accomplishments and the adversities. And I love trying to touch on a portion of all of it, especially discussions about all the murkiness we live through in the middle.
Sunday night we had fun reconnecting with Kris Schlieper, Waldorf College class of 1999, and his wife, Angela. Over the course of five to six hours, we had fun recounting the stuff of life as we've lived it recently: frustrations, sorrows, discoveries, delights, fascinations. All wonderful stuff.
Kris allowed me to capture a bit of our night to share with you (another honor), thinking it will be especially fun to to share it with any former classmates who may check it out. FYI: Kris doubts this will happen, so if you watch this, be sure to post a hello to him in the blog comments.
All the best to you, Mr. Schlieper, as you continue to put that master's degree to work at Microsoft and continue to work toward a doctorate. Just keep on changing the world you encounter for the better.
One of the best aspects of teaching has to be the privilege of watching how a young person's passion carries him (or her) into a rewarding life.
Our family has known Chase Chisholm ever since we moved to town 16 years ago. Chase grew up in Forest City, keeping busy with ability-stretching activities like musicals, cross country, and student council. I had the privilege of being Chase's confirmation teacher during his ninth grade year, a role that gave me insight into his compassionate nature and creative thought process.
I watched him struggle with his decision about where to go to college. He was attracted to Waldorf College's outstanding communications program but itched to bust out of his small hometown to see the world. In fact, he nearly made it into the Paris "Real World" cast - a road not taken that would have surely altered his life in ways that will forever remain unknown. Instead, this Bill's Family Foods grocery checker committed to stay small-town for three years - long enough to earn an accelerated BA (with a summer studying in Europe) - and I'm so glad he did. Both Mark and I thoroughly enjoyed his contributions in our courses and other ways he simply shared life.
Chase left a large imprint on the Waldorf College campus, evident by his selection as the college's President's Award recipient in 2005. Since then he's worked as a graphic artist, a broadcaster, and a waiter in Sioux Falls, S.D.; sang with a Lutheran Youth Encounter team during its appointment to Hong Kong; assisted with the branding of an organization for persons with disabilities; and helped launch a website for a magazine of the ELCA.
In the spring of 2008 our family bid Chase farewell as he prepared to serve two years with the Peace Corps in Georgetown, Guyana, with an assignment to teach technology to students at Open Doors Centre for Persons with Disabilities. Their need and his passion match beautifully, something easily witnessed even half a world away through the wonder of Facebook. His photography and notes about daily life convey the essence of who he is at the core, a man who misses little of life because no detail is deemed insignificant. It's clear that those he teaches eagerly drink the life he pours in large portions.
I've always thought of Chase as a bit of a pied-piper. Everyone who encounters him is attracted to his open, caring spirit and would likely follow him anywhere. You get a strong sense that he can help you find the fun while appreciating everything that might cross your path. So you can imagine our family's joy this afternoon as we got to share life with Chase in person again. Such a privilege. I hope you enjoy a few minutes with us too.
. . .P.S.- Chase, send me this photo so I can make it bigger!! :-)
This week's snow certainly beckons the Christmas season. Following so closely after our community tree lighting ceremony, I don't think anyone in Forest City can deny the yuletide season is here.
Candles, caroling, Christmas tree, a choir - a community event for children of all ages. Our 21st century version of Norman Rockwell Americana.
Blessings to you and yours as you finish a fascinating 2009. May your coming year be full of promise and a hope that will not disappoint. . .
Tonight Stross, Mark and I attended a type of event that you really have to see to fully appreciate: a man who can swallow swords. For real.
The sword swallower is Dan Meyer, a 1977 graduate of Waldorf College who received a distinguished alumni award this weekend. His unique ability has taken him around the world and found him performing for the Food Network, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and America's Got Talent.
For Dan Meyer, sword swallowing serves as a tangible faith metaphor. He puts his life on the line every time he does it, and his motivation is to prove that what he's doing is real. What began as a fascination for him–courtesy of sword swallowers in India–has become his vocational call.
As Dan realized, his greatest impact on a person comes only after that individual is convinced he's real. And as I've realized, it doesn't matter what faith you profess: Your ability to impact someone's life must come from authenticity. I very much respect that. God is God in any language. Authenticity is valued universally.
Stross didn't want to go at first, but we convinced him this is the kind of thing you don't usually get to see in person. According to Dan, in 1988 there were less than one dozen practicing sword swallowers in the world! I certainly can understand why the number is so small.
Stross and I try to share what we saw, but it's probably something you need to see for yourself to fully appreciate: http://www.danmeyer.org/
And, please take Stross' closing words of advice to heart!
Blogs give everyone a place to say what they think. That's why it should be a great fit for someone like me. So why don't I blog more?
In a word: Time.
In a phrase: Not enough time to edit what I'm thinking.
Certainly I have a lot to say. I just worry that if I spend more time blogging, I'll also spend too much time worrying that what I had written was not edited well. In fact, even now I'm worried that what I'm writing about here is basically about nothing. And that, in writing about basically nothing, I'm doing it in a wordy way.
And it is...wordy, that is. Isn't it?
So how about a basic update?
This week I spent an entire day writing and editing a piece I first penned (is that word appropriate even when something is typed on a computer?) in March 2001. It's something I'll submit to The Muse, Waldorf College's literary publication. All I've left to do is title it. And since it's not titled, I can't tell you it. I will tell you it's a prose piece that features Skye rather than Stross, as I wanted to give him a little time in the sun as well.
So that's what I wrote this week.
I wrote something last week as well: an article about personal holy days for The Lutheran magazine. I think I've coined the term: personal holy day. And I'd tell you what it means, but then you wouldn't have a reason to read my article when it's published.
I should also mention what's happening with radio support of Involuntary Joy. Last month I recorded an interview with the Rev. Peter Marty, host of Grace Matters, the nationally syndicated radio program of the ELCA. It will air sometime in March. And then yesterday, I recorded an interview for a Christian radio station in Des Moines, Life 107.1 FM. I thoroughly enjoyed both conversations; however, both times I thought of things I should have said after the taping was done. I'm getting better at articulating the core messages of Involuntary Joy, though. For someone who thinks aloud, there is probably no other way to do it.
The next thing I intend to write is the rest of my marketing plan.
And with that, I have no catchy or clever way to end this blog.
So...until later, I guess.
PS - I can't resist this last thought on writing and finding the right words: When Barack Obama wrote "Yes, we can" in his speech the first time he chose to use it, did he remember that it's Bob, The Builder's theme song? Did he care?
