Hey everybody!
To start off, I would like to apologize for my lack of blogging. But, on a positive note, Autumn is FINALLY here! It’s my favorite season, by far! I love all of the different colors of the leaves while they fall from the trees. Naperville is very beautiful at this time of year.
This past weekend, I was able to see Yo Yo Ma, the world’s greatest cellist for only $20!! I’m not the most knowledgeable on classical music or music of that nature, but I do enjoy very much. And because of the “Student Rush” deal, I only had to be $20. If you are like me, when you hear the term “Student Rush Tickets” you say, “What’s that?” Well, normally these tickets were around $120.00. Then, the day before the show, there was an announcement that if you signed up on a sheet, showed up to the show 30 minutes early, there might be enough seating so that you can purchase an extra ticket for $20.00, and since they opened up the Chorus seating above the stage, we got in! It was a very exciting evening and Yo Yo Ma played beautifully.
So, I have the great honor of being on a committee called the Strategic Planning Committee. What this is, is a committee that puts together a blueprint for the goals that the college wants to establish in the next five years. The committee is served by mainly faculty and staff with only 8 students, and I was blessed enough to be one of these students. The committee is broken down into 4 subcommittees: programs, resources and facilities, teaching and learning, and people. I am one of the two students on the teaching and learning committee. Generally we meet only one every two weeks. We had our third meeting of the year today. It’s very cool to be able to see the views of the professors and how most of the time they coincide with the student’s views. It’s just a great honor to be able to represent the North Central College student body at these meetings. It’s also really cool to have the professors interested in mine and Em’s (the other student on the committee) views and what we have to say about topics. When we speak, the faculty and staff are listening intently. For the time being, I feel as though I’m at the same level as them. To not be scared and express my opinion and know that it will, at the very least, be considered, not just shut down. I look forward to my next meeting, on October 21st, but I’m sure you’ll hear from me before that.
Have a good one,
Patrick