Rites of Passage

Most people who know me know that I take "be true to your school" quite seriously. In fact, it's literally my life's work. I teach, and am an alumni director, at the same school from which I graduated in 1988.

Tonight was the grads' ring-turning ceremony. It's a short, but meaningful, rite of passage during which the grads have their school crest rings turned around to face the world, marking them as soon-to-be alumni.

Last year was the first year the school did this ceremony, and last year I was asked to represent the alumni association. I was very glad to be able to do the same again tonight.

After the ceremony, I took the representative from the ring company on a quick tour of the school. (He had been asking questions about the school's obvious heritage, commenting that schools in his area don't have the same sense of tradition.) We looked at the graduate photographs dating back to the 1890s, and once again I found myself swell with pride over how fortunate I've been to be a part of it.

The students mean a lot to me. I try to be fair, friendly and firm. Sometimes I think I'm too hard on them, but generally speaking, most of the kids love to say hello in the halls, so I must be hitting the right balance. Tonight, at the ceremony, a number of them wanted to have photos taken with me, and that always makes me happy. These kids are good kids. For the four years they're "my" kids, I have the privilege of watching them grow from essentially children into young adults, and the transformation is fascinating.

I love what I do. I love the kids, and I love the school. Some days it's hard to remember that -- everyone has their rough days at work -- but overall, it's a great life I lead.

Vita vitalis.