Last week of my "break"

I don't think I ever shared with you that I had a "break" theme.  Yep.  I did.  I discovered it in late May, shortly after deciding to take a leave of absence.  It was perfect!  Upbeat, silly lyrics, some funkiness in the middle.  And Alice Smith is a very soulful singer (in the genre of Nina Simone and some of those marvelous vocalists).

If you have a moment, take a listen by clicking on the link below.  If you printed this and are not on-line, here are the lyrics:

http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/window/media/player/0,,3558309-7830786-RMLO,00.html

I woke up in NYC
With a bunch of anxiety
Rent's due in a couple of weeks
Yo, I had this really fucked up dream and
I just let it slip away
Thinking about all the bills I got to pay
I think I'll hock my trinity
And buy it back on a better day

Spent ten days in Woodstock taking it easy
So would you please excuse me
'Cause I'm feeling quite sad and I'm happy again
Because I spent ten days in Woodstock taking it easy
Feeling mellow like a cello
Go ahead part the seas and say hello to the fishes for me

Wow, man, what a sunny day
I can't wait to get out and play
Walk down those city streets
Laughing at all those city creeps and
I got a lot to organ-iz-ize
Got a lot of thinking to do
Another day the sun'll be out
Another day the sky will be blue

All the crazy fish say'...wa, wa, wa....
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, the trip to Winona, MN was great!  It was my first meeting at the Advisory Board chair of the Saint Teresa Leadership and Service Institute (STI) at Saint Mary's University:  http://www.smumn.edu/sitepages/pid1187.php    

The program is in its' third year and the birthing process has been challenging!   My connection to the program is through the College of St. Teresa (CST), my alma mater.  CST closed in 1987, but an alumna made a significant contribution to Saint Mary's to start the program.  We have $150,000 in scholarship funds raised and have the biggest non-academic budget on campus. 

There are 33 women in the program, 17 of whom will graduate this spring.  We had hoped to be at 50 students this year; however, we've struggled to 'sell' the program.  The focus is tri-fold: co-curricular (4 women's only courses on Leadership and Franciscan/Teresan/LaSallian values), residential (members are asked to live in community with one another for the first two years), and service-focused (women have to work on several service opportunities in leadership roles).

We have the most racially diverse group on campus and our performance metrics outperform other groups:  our student retention rate is the highest.  We spent a significant amount of time at this meeting working on identified measurable outcomes and working with the institutional research group on evaluation measures.  I hope you're proud!

Winona is a very special place for me.  It's a city that sits on the Mississippi, surrounded by bluffs.  The drive down to Winona from the twin cities is amazing this time of year.  The colors are just blazing!  Watching the barges go down the river with the Wisconsin bluffs on one side and the Minnesota bluffs on the other....

Although CST is closed and most of the property has been sold to the local high school or Winona State University, the chapel and Alverna Hall (where the nuns used to live!) belong to Saint Mary's.   The chapel is special to me because it is where I was baptized, confirmed and received first communion.   I can't tell you how much CST 'raised' me.  I would not be the woman I am today had it not been for the College.  I still stay in touch with Sister Margaret who was my advisor for Pax Christi/Bread for the World.  She has been an amazing source of support for me during my 'break'.

All in all...the trip was perfect. The time spent with a marvelous group of women who sit on the Advisory Board with me is always of value.  Although I'm the youngest (most are in their mid- to late-60's), they tolerate me well and patiently teach me how to be the best leader I can be.  They love to telll me stories of the days when Teresan women couldn't leave campus without hats and gloves, share their knowledge of working with university staff and faculty (3 are retired PhD's), and I'm even learning a thing or two about single-malt scotch!

I put together a little slide show for you from the Teresan Book on Manners - enjoy!

F:\Agency Services\Agency Communications\Manners.ppt<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />