SOLAE "Rookie of the Year" Award

I just received the "Rookie of the Year" award from Odessa College's School of Liberal Arts and Education (SOLAE). Below are some remarks I'd like to make to my colleagues. (Photo credit: Christy McGuire)

This is big. Receiving an award from a jury of one's peers is no small thing. But to receive it from people who consistently go over and beyond for their students, colleagues, families, schools, and community – this is simply incredible. So thank you. This award comes with a renewed sense of responsibility, as you recognized something that is worth speaking about. I'd like to take a few moments to illustrate what's at stake.

The primary thing I want for the college experience is the cultivation of empathy. We want students energized and talking to each other in a number of settings so they see each other. We want everyone to address each other with respect and dignity as they understand that they are deserving of the utmost respect because of their dignity. It is crucial to this project to help students recognize college as a social space, a "microcosm of human experience" which invites reflection. My research, which is on Heideggerian notions of culture and authenticity, speaks to these themes in a different way.

The benefits of what we're doing already speak for themselves. Again, I couldn't do anything without your support. You've made it much easier to reach out to students and give what's necessary. I am blessed to have a number of students reach out to each other, accept and relish leadership roles, advocate for each other. Some of my proudest moments these past 3 quarters have involved students applying to the finest schools in the world, schools they didn't think they were worthy of. Seeing their eagerness to serve and bring more voices to the table. The hope is for a more caring citizenry, one which lends itself immediately to genuine civic leadership. They know the pipes need to be fixed, that old oil wells need to be plugged, that the generation beyond them deserves that much more. I believe in them. The change that matters is in motion.

References

"microcosm of the human experience" is a line from Tom Wayman's incredible poem "Did I Miss Anything?"