A bit of a recap

In the very beginning of the summer, before I'd hardly had a chance to unwind, I boarded a plane bound for West Virginia where I went to visit my Dad. I had not, for a multitude of reasons, seen my father since the day I graduated high school in 2005. There had always been all these reasons and excuses why I hadn't visited him. I've realized that despite everything and anything...there are some relationships in your life and people you meet or know that are worth holding on to. While it was stressful in its own way, I'm grateful the trip gave me the opportunity to get to know him better.

Working for CTY this summer as an administrator was above all things a tremendous learning experience through which I made a small handful of incredible friends. While it was not what I had expected and my naive enthusiasm for the position did not serve me well, I adapted and made the best of it. I missed working more closely with students and found myself creating opportunities--visiting floors to join in on improvised four square games, co-facilitating afternoon swing dancing lessons, acting as a pirate judge for campus color wars, and performing in a staff lip sync for the talent show just to be a greater part of the action.

While I have not made any decisions regarding future endeavors (as I really ought to as soon as I can) I'm hopeful I will return to CLI in Baltimore next summer, where I really felt I had a tremendous positive impact on the staff and students.

Moving back to New Paltz was like coming home. I'm overwhelmed with gratitude and keep reminding myself to soak up every minute and to take advantage of every opportunity I can.

I also started working on a new body of work. At the end of last semester I spent an exuberant amount of time in the studio cutting out magazine clippings. I kept finding all these characters and scenes that suggested strong narratives filled with tension. I've begun scanning these collages and am making large format digital prints of them that I'm going to continue to print over. I'll have to post some images soon.

Song of the day: The Weakerthans-My Favorite Chords

JHU's Center For Talented Youth

This past week I received a phone call from a Project Manager for Johns Hopkins University's Center For Talented Youth Program saying that I an employment opportunity opened up for me as a Senior Resident Assistant at a site in Pennsylvania. I was originally told the enrollment rates were so low, they had been forced to cut a number of spots and that the likelihood of new ones becoming available were slim to none. You can imagine my surprise when a Baltimore area code appeared on my phone and I found myself accepting the position immediately!

I am a former student of the program back when it was called IAAY in '96 and then CTY in '97. I came back to work for their Civic Leadership Institute (developed with a sister program in Chicago) as a Resident Assistant. Grateful for what my experience had been as a student, I was eager to play a dynamic role in creating a similar positive experience for my own students. The three weeks I spent in Baltimore were truly remarkable and I cannot wait to join the staff at my new site this summer. As a Senior RA, I will be in more of a supervisory position, responsible for training and leading the staff, handling any disciplinary issues, and maintaining a close line of communication with administrators. The hours are crazy and I get maybe two days off in seven weeks. I will be distracted beyond belief and for that I'm even more grateful.