Shorts and Longs

I often tweet and Facebook about wacky incidents and annoying students, however I do not tell you enough about the admirable students.   There is a few this semester that whose determination have truly inspired me.    Last year I assisted with early registration.  One of the students that I met was a young lady from a nearby town I will call DJ.   She was very excited about coming to college and very proud to have earned a full academic scholarship.   When the fall semester came I met her again in Intro to PR.   She was very quiet, being the only freshman in the class.  However her course work was on par with the upperclassmen.  Near the end of the semester she began to miss several classes which were very out of character.  I later learned that she had been hospitalized and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.   DJ returned to class, caught up on her assignments and rocked her final presentation.    The quiet freshman that sat in the back produced one of the best media kits of the semester.      This semester DJ is another of my PR classes.  Unfortunately her health issues have progressed and she has missed even more days this semester.  However, she contacts me regularly regarding assignments and follows the course on Blackboard.    This week she emailed me and apologized for not making the extended deadline on an assignment.  Although I make concessions for her she does not expect or ask for any favors.   

Many of us do not think of violent crimes impacting small rural communities.  One of my students has lost eight friends that were victims of violence.   I noticed that her demeanor had changed in class.  At the start of the semester she was very engaged, but then began to miss class. When she was present her head was down and she was unusually quiet.  One day she asked to speak to me after class and explained that she was feeling lost because she had experienced so much lost.   The previous week her eighth friend had been killed within a year.   I didn’t know how to respond.  I asked where she was from and was surprised her hometown is a rural community upstate.   I expressed my sympathy to her and inquired about her support system.   As the semester progressed I’ve seen her return more to her former self.  She’s volunteered to help with projects on campus.  At midterm she was failing and now she has a C and is smiling again.

The most amazing of my honorable mentions is my student RB.  She’s one of the first students that I taught.  I feel very connected to that entire group but RB is like my little sister.   Before the spring semester ended she walked into my office one day, nervously closed the door and told me she was having a baby.   She told me she was afraid that I would be upset and disappointed by her pregnancy.  I told her I only would be disappointed if she didn’t continue school.   She returned to school in the fall with a large baby bump, of which elicited stares and whispers from faculty, staff and students at the private religious institution.  The taunts were distressing but did not deter her. At midterm RB was holding down a job, producing shows for the campus TV station and acing exams all at nine months pregnant.   She was in class until a week before she gave birth. Some days she was having contractions!  She completed assignments in advance because she knew that maternity leave was imminent.    Last week I visited her at the hospital.  While I was holding her day old son, she’s strategizing how she can complete her course work and return to school in the spring.   

The term honorable mention is seen as second best but the drive and determination of these three students surpasses all others.     When a student says to “I missed the deadline because I was taking nap,” yet wants a second chance to submit it the assignment;   I think of these courageous young ladies.    There’s no comparison that can be made.   When I’ve been whining about my own life I think of these students and end the pity party.  If they can do it, we all can.