Achievements.... and taking time to celebrate

As I write this, I am preparing to graduate another group of future teachers. It was a hard-fought year. Perhaps one of the hardest I have had yet - for lots of reasons I cannot post on a blog. Suffice it to say, there was more than one day this year I had to drag myself to work.

But, this time of year is always magically restorative.

The oppressive Oregon rain stops and the "70's and sunny" weather shows up everyday.

Grades are posted so another school year comes to an end.

The pace of the campus slows.

The kind of work I do on a daily basis changes to something proactive instead of reactive.

Students don the cap and gown and smiling families show up across campus to celebrate.

Awards are given for a job you didn't think anyone noticed.

Students stop by to bring baked goods, and thank you notes and kind words of gratitude.

While at a conference with colleagues in Kansas City in late May, I was notified that I received promotion to Associate Professor at Oregon State and given indefinite tenure. This is a goal I have been working towards since I was hired in 2010. It was great to celebrate this milestone while at a conference with my mentors and professional friends. We celebrated by taking in a Royals game at the K.

We don't do it for the accolades, but at the end of a year that wore down my spirit a little, these moments of reflection and assessment are invigorating.In the interest of archiving these moments for posterity:

Josh Stewart and me receiving the honorable mention for Distinguished Manuscript at the 2016 AAAE

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Receiving the 2016 CAS Agricultural Executive Council's Distinguished Professor of the Year Award

A screenshot of a scanned, emailed PDF of a letter I have been working towards for years. I'll take it.

Feeling the love from students with surprise coffee and chocolates