Day 2-29 -- From Beginning to End -- a Wonderful day

Today began and ended with interesting events. Breakfast at 8 AM was with a group of Academic All Canadians -- a designation from Canadian Inter-University Sport. This group of 50 athletes from our small university all achieved an average of 80% or higher in their academic pursuits while being full time athletes. The athletics part of their university lives can take 20-30 hours each week and their academic work remains top notch.  It was an honour to be asked by one of the students to attend as a faculty member who has supported them through the academics. This was my first time at this event. Two-thirds of the recipients were females -- which is close to the proportion of women enrolled at universities these days. Several of these young people have maintained this high academic achievement for several years, with two of them for their full five years in their sport. Truly, these are an inspiring group.

After two classes and much catch-up on paper work after the snow closures, the day ended with an evening out with a friend. We had wine and tapas and had a good chat about many things. It was a great time to catch up on happenings in our lives. This is something that I enjoy -- we always seem to be able to talk forever -- even at work <smile> -- so it is nice to have the time to just sit and talk.

A song had come to mind to represent the morning event -- more so the people we were honouring. Yet, on reflection, it fits with some of the topics that were discussed at the end of my day, too. The lyrics describe the type of approach to life held by many of the student athletes and one to which others can aspire. Enjoy!

You Gotta Be -- Des'ree