My students are not my friends, but I probably spend more time with my students than with my friends. I am alternately incredibly proud and incredibly frustrated by them. They inspire me to be a better teacher and a better person. They keep pushing me to be creative and thoughtful and young. They’re also, occasionally, even fun to spend time with.
This year’s Executive Board was one of the best groups of kids I’ve ever worked with. Kaitlyn is incredibly kind and diplomatic. Chris is proficient and focused (I wanted to say militant, but that has a negative connotation, but I mean it in only a complimentary way, and the kid is going to The Merchant Marines after all). Simon is the most organized treasurer I’ve ever had; he scrutinized every charge, harassed O’Brien for the balance sheets, meticulously kept the books, and made the amazing video about how to fund raise that's below! (I also love his sinister undertone and threats of impeachment). Justin and Nick were good too.
So why am I so proud of these kids? They: Revolutionized Fireside Chat - turning it into a listening session with organized lines of argument Made Club Accounting Videos - written and produced by Simon which will break down all the club accounting practices that students never practice (above) Created new forms and practices for battle shirts and races
Beyond all those achievements, it was fun just sitting around a table and taking to them. They’re smart, funny, and focused. They understand the responsibilities they have and always put the moment in perspective. I trusted them, which is more than i can say for many boards of the past. I trusted them to do what they needed to do, but I also trusted them to make wise decisions, and I trusted that they would ask me for advice when they needed it.
Highlander
Imondi flipped through the second issue of The Highlander magazine and said, “so this is what you’ve been trying to do.” Since the first year I started running The Highlander with Mattson, I’ve wanted it to be a cohesive magazine with great content and a great look that people wanted to read. The first year i got involved with The Highlander, we had a team of students who did everything! We truly were advisors, but over over the last few years the students took less ownership, and the content we were creating became more fluffy and less focused. Also, the magazine never looked cohesive.
This year, we finally figured out some of the issues that had been plaguing us. We made issues that were thematic. We got one creative director with vision to create aesthetic cohesion. We revised with our writers until the pieces were great and cut any inferior content (no matter how much time the writer or we spent on it). The result was what will be my last issue for a while as I step down from advising the club, but I also leave it with my original vision on paper. I couldn’t be more proud.