You might know this song ... but only if you attended Hawthorne Elementary School, where our music teacher taught us songs of this ilk ... songs that have stayed with me for a long time! (Obviously.) At the end of this blog, you will find a link to a youtube video of someone (NOT from Hawthorne) who sings the song as it was meant to be sung ... while a-wandering. It's worth it for the view! And the fun.
But the wandering part of this blog refers to (remember ... we were always coming to Part 2) my journey through my work life.When I left you, I was still clamoring to go to law school. And I finally made it. I felt very old when I began my first year (1L) at the University of Nebraska. In fact, I was 33. (Not so very old now.) Only a few other students fit my non-traditional bill. One of the non-trads and some of the young'uns became my life-long friends ... so here I stop and thank Jodi Upright and her husband J.W. for making sure I survived being a 1L. I graduated law school finally feeling like I'd found a place for my square peg to rest. (I also found Rob there ... but that's a whole different blog!)
My children were patient with me as I studied harder than I'd thought possible (OR necessary ... but it was). I hope I became a better person for achieving my life-long goal ... less argumentative in my day-to-day existence (yes, I'm sure that's an amazing fact to some) because I'd found an outlet for my ability to frame an argument ... and I could get paid for it. So I went to work for a law firm for a few years but found out, much to my dismay, that I didn't actually like being Perry Mason. I liked parts of it ... but attorneys (contrary to some public opinion) work long and hard ... and I had a yen to travel with Rob and spend more time with him.
Enter the Coordinating Commission, where I served as their legal counsel but, more importantly, cut my teeth on higher education issues and ran the state's scholarship program. Again, I made good friends ... who are still good friends ... and learned how things really get done in the Legislature and in the hallowed halls of academia. During my tenure there, Rob served as Dean of the Law College, and that got a little sticky ... since the Commission also oversaw budgets coming out of the University. My role in that was miniscule but conflict of interest is as much about perception as reality so I started looking for a different job.
And the job of a lifetime came along ... vice-president, later executive vice-president, for EducationQuest Foundation. You've heard me wax ... (if not eloquently at least "wax") ... about my work here but it truly has been a magnificent job. My President has trusted me to know what to do with my programs: that autonomy is part of why I've liked it here. But the larger part is the mission: EducationQuest makes it possible for students to go to college ... especially students who never believed that they could. Flashback to my growing up years: while I always believed that I could go to college, there were plenty of people around me ... students as capable or more capable than I ... who did not believe it and who never went to college.
Don't get me wrong ... I realize that college isn't for everyone. But the possibility ... the dream ... of going to college should be for everyone, regardless of race or income level. And that's what EducationQuest promotes ... and then puts its money where its words are ... the CHOICE is for everyone.
So yes, that's my passion. That won't end with retirement ... it will just take a different form.
PS ... No, I didn't forget ... here's the song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73A_8KQo2Nk
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