Extraordinary Happens Here

It was a privilege to start the week in New York City with Bill Finn, Carrie, Molly, alums, donors, and parents. While New York is an incredible place, it’s in Charleston where I see extraordinary happening. And it’s quickly spreading across the globe.

On Monday evening, we had a Schottland Alumni dinner with about a dozen scholars who are creating exciting careers in NY. It was terrific learning what these incredible alumni are doing. They are individually impressive and united in advancing the College and the School. They each shared stories about how the program and specific faculty and mentors have positively impacted their lives. Some of the stories were from memorable, significant events. Others were from insights gained from a passing conversation with a faculty or staff member. It was humbling to hear of the impact that so many of you have had, even on this small group of alumni. As the event concluded, I couldn’t help but think something extraordinary had happened to them.

Then …. upon returning to campus, more extraordinary happenings everywhere I looked.

Walking into Beatty, I saw signage promoting Adam Smith Week – extraordinary. Then, I was asked questions about the Strategic Investment Symposium and Women for Women—even more extraordinary. The remainder of the day, I worked with colleagues to address challenging issues and talked with Advancement about potential significant gifts, interacted with the Student Success Team, spoke with faculty about course and program ideas, discussed opportunities with staff, and learned about some fantastic research. And there is so much more that I haven’t mentioned.

Working with you, I see extraordinary, even on issues where we think differently. We are willing to have the conversations and are working towards being truly exceptional – together.

Do you see the extraordinary, too? Extraordinary can be in nearly everything we do.

When we put all the pieces together, it’s spectacular.

YOU make a difference.

Ponder this with me …