Union Board Centennial

I just returned from the Indiana Memorial Union Board of Directors Centennial Reunion. I had a marvelous time and am grateful to the staff, alumni, and students who planned and executed a lovely weekend. I was a member of the 1995 Board (as director of Cultural Awareness) and I credit the student programming board with teaching me a lot about event planning, meeting organization, teamwork, and budgeting.  Students are empowered to do everything from make decisions about the physical building to bringing films, art, concerts and lectures to campus. It was an ideal opportunity to learn about service and mentorship as well. The Indiana Memorial Union is still a model of student-centered, experiential learning.

Returning to Bloomington brought on a flood of nostalgia sweet, painful, lovely memories of childhood, college and formative years. I lived in Bloomington for six years.  But before my college and grad school stints, Bloomington was also home to my mother’s family and nearby Nashville where my paternal grandparents lived. Driving around town and walking around campus, I am pleased to find many of the things I love unchanged.

Autumn is truly a magical time to be in town. Campus was full of activity. My good friend Kerry Maller brought a certain lightness and kept me from taking myself too seriously. We had a wonderful time sharing stories, collecting leaves from the carpet of yellow ginkos, eating Pizza Express late at night, and attending a lecture on the Beatles by beloved professor Dr. Glenn Gass. It was a joy to reconnect with old advisors, now friends: Erin, Melissa, and Gooch as well as fellow Board members, now mothers: Kelly, Jenny, and Christina.