May was a month of awards and recognition for both of us. Yes, in this post, I get to share the spotlight with my son, Lewie!
First, let me brag about my son in typical mom fashion. He's taking a boatload of challenging courses this year — Algebra II, Chemistry, AP Computer Principles, Honors English, History, American Sign Language, and gym — and earning High Honors for all terms so far. (We shall see what the fourth quarter brings...) On May 21, hubby, Grammy, and I piled into the high school auditorium to see Lewie get inducted into the Mu Alpha Theta National High School and Two-Year College Mathematics Honor Society. We were so proud to hear his name called on stage! However, in an earlier morning ceremony (for students only), Lewie also received an Academic Award for Excellence in Computer Science Principles and American Sign Language. (I promised Lewie I wouldn't post pictures of the awards on Facebook, but I never said anything about my blog--lol!)
Lewie's "come-back" this year was exactly what he needed. Last year at this time, he was recovering from two lung surgeries (after having a spontaneous lung collapse) and doing everything he could to pass his finals in biology, geometry, and Spanish--three courses that gave him problems right from the start. He needed a "reset," so to speak, and this year provided just that. This year, he also played on the boys' tennis team (something he wasn't able to complete last year). While his lung still gave him problems at times, he was able to push through, and now he's more motivated than ever to get better at the sport. My first assignment for the summer is to find him formal lessons!
For me, this month brought three great surprises. First, I was accepted into the University of Kansas's Doctor of Education program (Ed.D.) in Higher Education Administration, and formally attended my first orientation as a doctoral student; my first class begins in less than a week!
Then, one day, as I was reading through my emails, I was surprised to see one titled "Congratulations on Winning the Good as Gold Award!" "The what?" I asked myself in disbelief! I had to read the email three times to believe it was real. It read...
Several CT State Community College Honor Society Collective (PTK/ABG/EX) inductees have nominated you for the Good as Gold Award, recognizing faculty, staff, and administrators who make extraordinary contributions to students at CT State, and your nomination has been selected for the top award.
I was shocked! A total sense of gratitude and overwhelm took over. It was obvious that some of my students were being inducted into the PTK National Honor Society, and they nominated me for the award. I was asked to give a speech, and of course, I couldn't say no. I was allowed to invite my family (my husband, Grammy, and Lewie) to the ceremony where I delivered the speech, meant to inspire, uplift, and remind my students (all the PTK students) of their extraordinary accomplishments. I rehearsed the speech for weeks and weeks, not wanting to disappoint. To me, getting an award from my students was the highest honor and privilege of all!!!!
My last surprise was to learn that a conference proposal I wrote for the CT School Counselor Association was selected to be part of their program. This may sound unusual, but despite having taught and worked in higher education for 25 years, I had never submitted a proposal to present at a conference before. This year, I was asked to do it (as part of my job), and the response from the conference organizers was yes--go for it... (in my words--not theirs). It was super exciting, but also a little nerve-wracking, to have both of these events within a week of each other. No less--the show (or shows) must go on!
Yes, this May was a pivotal month. It was BUSY, but it helped Lewie and me get back on track. For Lewie, (after his lung collapse), it was a year of getting back in the game; for me, (after a year of working at a land trust), it was a reminder I needed to stay in higher education. What a great feeling it is to know we're on the right path!
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