Mail Carriers, Postal Workers and other Delivery People

 I'm grateful for mail carriers, postal workers and other delivery people.

The Holy Ghost and The Sun, Moon, and Stars

I'm grateful for the Holy Ghost.  The Holy Ghost gives us comfort, helps us recognize truth, and testifies of Jesus Christ.  I'm sure that I rely on the guidance of The Holy Ghost multiple times every day.  Learn more about the Holy Ghost and how he can help you throughout your life.

The Holy Spirit -- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

I'm also grateful for the sun, moon and stars, sunrises, sunsets and everything that provides us with light and warmth. 

Grocers and Truckers and Food Producers

photo source

I'm grateful for grocers, and truckers and food producers.  I'm grateful that I  can jump into the car or walk to the grocery store and quickly find an abundance of tasty and healthy and affordable food options.

Aren't we so blessed?

Biographers and Historians

I'm grateful for biographers and historians and everyone who has made the effort to record and share their life stories and experiences and perspectives with others.  We can learn so much from others and their lives and experiences, their mistakes and their successes!

Creative Social Media Influencers

                                                               photo source

 I'm grateful for creative people who share their ideas on social media!

Like this one:

Teddy Bears In a Blanket

Missionaries

photo source

I'm grateful for missionaries!  I'm grateful for the wonderful missionaries to taught so many of my great-grandparents and their families about the restored  Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I'm grateful to my own children who have served missions, and for those who are currently serving as missionaries and sharing their testimonies and providing love and service and light and hope to many people all over the world today.  

Here are 10 things you might be interested to learn about missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

Temple Workers

Washington DC Temple photo source

I'm grateful for Temple Workers.  Temples are literally the House of The Lord, and require many wonderful volunteers to keep things running smoothly.  Without the service of these dedicated workers, I wouldn't be able to enjoy the opportunity to attend the temple myself.

Custodians, Janitors, Mothers and others

photo source

I'm grateful for custodians, janitors, mothers, daughters, sons, husbands and others who work hard to keep our workplaces, churches, homes and other places clean and comfortable.

photo source

Organists, Pianists and Choristers

 

Photo Source

I'm grateful for willing and dedicated organists/pianists and choristers.  I've enjoyed singing in many varied choirs and congregations over many years, and would not have had those experiences without these dedicated individuals!

Neighbors

 I'm grateful for many many many wonderful neighbors!

Family

 I'm grateful for my family.  Parents, brothers, sisters, husband, children, in-laws, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and all!

Primary Children

I'm grateful for the children in my primary class this year, and for all of the youth and children I have been able to teach over the years.  I love seeing them learn and grow and knowing the wonderful adults they have become and are becoming! 

Cooks and Bakers

I'm grateful for chefs and cooks and bakers and restauranteurs and everyone who gives us a change of pace with delicious foods every once in a while.

Farmers and Ranchers

 I'm grateful for Farmers and Ranchers!

Prophets and Scriptures

 I'm grateful for ancient prophets who with faith and courage recorded their life experiences and testimonies and prophecies of God and our Savior.

Parents, Grandparents and Ancestors

 I'm grateful for parents, grandparents, and other ancestors who had the courage and faith and sacrifice to make choices that have allowed me to enjoy freedoms, privileges and faith throughout my lifetime.

Photos and Photographers

 I'm grateful for photos and photographers and family and friends who share their photos and their talents with me!

Hymns

 I'm grateful for uplifting and comforting hymns

Living Prophet and Apostles

Source for Photos

 I'm grateful for a living prophet and apostles, and for easy access to their many talks, articles and teachings.  

Beautiful Skies

 I'm grateful for beautiful skies, sun moon and stars.

Co-workers

 I'm grateful to have had so many wonderful co-workers over the years!

Prayer

Source

 I'm grateful for Prayer.

Modern Day Blessings -- Running Water, Refrigeration, Ice in the Summer and Air Conditioning

As much of the northern hemisphere is currently experiencing very high, unhealthy temperatures, there are many things I am grateful for this week.  I'm grateful that even though we have had very high temperatures and very little rain this past month, I know it could be worse.  I think of our forebears and the hard physical labor they were required to perform each and every day, in the same type of weather conditions we experience today.  I'm grateful for the many modern conveniences that help to protect us and our health, including running water, refrigeration, ice and other cold food and drink, and one of the greatest blessings of all for these hot summer days, Air conditioning.   I never have been a fan of air blowing on me, especially cold air, but I am grateful to have the blessing of being able to live and work and even travel in air conditioned homes, buildings, and cars.  

Grateful for Help In the Yard

 

As is usual almost every year, the heat and the snails are taking their toll on Grandma's Garden.  We had a nice fairly cool spring during May and June, but about three weeks ago Summer arrived with a vengeance, and we've had highs in the 90's almost every day, and no rain.  That first week of hot dry weather happened while the family was enjoying the cool, misty weather of the northern California Redwoods, so poor Grandma's garden was a bit neglected.  Gratefully the tomatoes and most of the petunias survived, but things are still looking a bit scraggly, so we added a few festive pin wheels for the fourth of July.

 

I tried planting a few beans, carrots, and beets underneath the two cherry tomato plants, but the snails always seem to find the vegetables even more delicious than the flowers, so they haven't done well at all.  I planted a few more beans a week ago, and a couple of them are starting to poke their noses out now.  Hopefully these ones will survive!

DH enlisted the help of the Young Women's group from our church, along with their leaders for an hour or so of yard work and weeding via purchasing coupons at their annual camp fundraiser back in May.  Last week was the appointed day, and they showed up en mass to work their magic on our poor rose garden, the front park strip, and the side yard pathway and basement stairwell, which has been overgrown with grass and ivy for quite a few years.  For some reason (mainly taking on a full time job 10 years ago), I haven't done very well with keeping up on the yard maintenance, and DH with his allergies and knee and shoulder and back issues has not ever been one to do much in the yard.  We are very grateful to these energetic young ladies and their leaders for all of their hard work and assistance with these projects!

 

The front park strip is looking pretty dry and ragged and sad without the spring tulips and daffodils, but much better without all of the weeds that were there a few weeks ago.  We still need to work on the mulch, but love having the lavender and the echinacea in bloom.

Side yard pathway and stairwell looking 500% better minus all of the tall grass and Ivy

Having all of this wonderful help with the front yard has given me the chance to finish up the planting and do a bit of weeding in the back vegetable garden.  I've pretty much given up on ever getting all of the very invasive grass out of our garden area, but if I keep up with it, I can at least get most of the border area and the other 4X4 or 4X6 feetish sized garden plots fairly weed free so that some of the vegetables can survive.    Yes, I'm very grateful for the help of the Young Women this year!

Do People Still Read Blogs? and Gratitude, Northern California, and Family

 

Do people still read blogs?   If you do, and feel up to it, leave me a comment.  I've not kept up as much with either reading or posting on my blogs lately, and it makes me a bit sad.   Times and social media have changed over the years, and I know I spend more time browsing on YouTube and Facebook and Instagram than I do reading blogs anymore.  (I still don't do tick tock or Twitter, but then I'm definitely part of the older generation these days).  I miss reading some of my old blogger favorites, but to try to stop by some of their blogs on occasion.  

O think my biggest regret is that I haven't been taking the time as often lately to recognize and record the many tender mercies and blessings in my life.  I've been in a bit of a funk the past little while and know that I have a tendency to focus on the negative, even when there is so much good in the world and in my life.   I know I need to make a bigger effort to recognize the good things in life, and especially to express my gratitude to the many people who make my life great:  my family, friends, co-workers, and especially my Heavenly Father.

Last week DH and DD1 and DD2 returned from a road trip to Northern California where we met up with DS1, DS2, DD3 and their families and our four beautiful grandchildren!  We were able to spend a week traveling and spending time with our favorite people in the world (we did miss DD4 as she wasn't able to make the trip this time).  We were able to see many beautiful places that we've never been before, enjoy the cooler coastal weather, majestic sequoias and redwoods, and the awesome pacific coast.  There was much wonderful food, games, fun, and memories made. This visit has been on my bucket list for a very long time, and due to the planning, work, and sacrifices of my children and my DH, they made it happen.  And, we all were able to travel safely there and back home again!  

I am very blessed.

Values, Vison, Voice Lessons

 

The values at the community college where I work are the foundation of our future endeavors and help us realize our mission of being an open-access, comprehensive community college committed to the transfer education and workforce needs of our students.  These values are collaboration, community, inclusivity, learning, innovation, integrity, and trust.  These values support our vision of being a model for inclusive and transformative education and strengthening the communities we serve through our students.

I'm pretty sure that the university where I received my college education also has and had similar values and vision, but when I was a student I wasn't really mindfully aware of them.  I was very much aware of the honor code that all students, and I assume faculty and staff had agreed to follow upon admission and enrollment at the university.  As a student I assumed that the college was doing its best to provide a comprehensive education in an environment that considered the best interests of the students, and that they all had values similar to my own.  The longer I attended and the more that I invested into my education, the more that I valued the benefits that a good education would bring.

One of the choices that I had in my education was the opportunity to take a group voice class.  I'm sure that I could have found a private voice teacher, but that wasn't really one of my priorities.  My mother has always told me that she enjoyed listening to me sing, but I never have felt very confident in my singing abilities.  I love music, and I love to sing, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to have some professional coaching.  We did learn some fun music, and I tried to practice what was taught, but I'm afraid I haven't retained what I was taught very well.  I was also married and pregnant that last year of college when I took the voice class, so felt I didn't have quite the lung capacity or the posture that I needed to do my best.  Excuses you say?  Probably.  I still love to sing and will do so at church and in the church choir and with my family, but I doubt you'll find me performing solo in front of an audience any time soon.

What about you?  What are your values and vision?  Have you taken voice lessons?  Any advice for a still very armature singer?

University vs Community College

The oft asked question for high school juniors and seniors . . . Where do you plan to attend college?

Of course there are many who do see college or any higher education in their immediate future, and part of my job is to help high school students, and even adults see that they can include higher education in their future.  That doesn't necessarily mean that a traditional college degree is the right choice for everyone, but in today's world, some form of post high school training is a great asset and important for a successful and secure future.  Technical training is available in many areas of study, and our economy does have many good jobs that don't require a traditional Associates, Bachelor's or Master's degree.

When I was in high school, my goal and hope was to attend the same University that my older siblings had all attended, and even though I submitted my application to several other schools in the state, never seriously considered attending either of those schools.  Quite a few of my fellow classmates did apply and attend the school where I currently work.  At the time this state school was a Technical College that offered associates degrees and other short term training classes.  Now the school has transitioned to a Community College where nearly 150 different programs are offered, with transfer opportunities to other universities in the state. 

One of the selling points of the community college is the affordability, not just with lower tuition and fees, but also lower living expenses for many students who can continue to live at home rather than paying rent or other housing costs associated with choosing a school further away from home.  A student can spend much less on their total educational costs, and even avoid student loans altogether if they qualify for federal financial aid.  

I totally loved my University experience, and we have encouraged all of our children to attend the University, move away from home for a few years, and learn to experience life on their own before needing to be totally independent from their parents.   Yet, for many students, the community college experience is the better choice.

What are your thoughts on University vs Community College?

Temper

 Anyone who knows me well should know that sometimes I do have a bit of a temper, and when it flares up, I sometimes don't do a very good job of controlling it.  I have been known to do a fair amount of door slamming, dishes slamming, (never actually throwing?) and not just raising of the voice, but actually yelling at those I love and care about.    Are these loving actions?  Charitable actions?  Christ-like actions.  No.  and I am not proud of this part of me, and have struggled with my temper and my actions related to my temper for most of my life.  My dear husband and dear children know.  I'm sure my parents and siblings are aware.  Some of my co-workers have witnessed this frailty.  Even some of my closest friends and ward members, especially the young women I worked with back in 2008-2010 are painfully aware of my faults.  

At the end of June in 2008 I was asked to serve in my local church congregation as the Young Women's President, who is in charge of planning weekly activities and Sunday lessons for the young women in the congregation aged 12 to 18.  I felt very inadequate to hold this position, and had I had many doubts as to my ability to perform all of the responsibilities.  However, I've always felt it is important to accept callings in my church, and knew and admired the other women who would be working with me, so I accepted the call.

Plans for the yearly Young Women's Camp were already well underway, and I was assured there was not much that I needed to do as the Camp Directors for our local group had everything well planned and prepared for.  Our group was one of eight different congregations that would be attending the camp, and everything had already been planned.  I didn't even need to drive my own car to camp, and we had our final camp clinics, the food shopping was done, and everything was set.  About all that I needed to do was to pack my own things and help my own two youngest daughters to pack and prepare for the trip.  

I greatly admire both of the Camp Directors and had worked with both of them in other types of school and church activities, so I looked forward to working with both of them.  The other leaders from our church congregation that were going to camp were also good friends that I greatly admired.

We made it up to camp, and found that our requested camp site had been commandeered or assigned to another ward, which started things off with a bit of a negative attitude for all the girls.  It was one of the sites without a cabin, and on a slope, so it wasn't a very good situation for rainy weather.  We got our tents set up.  I think we had the girls divided up into tents by age group, with we leaders in a separate tent.  This was a pretty rambunctious group of girls, the older group especially.   Some of them had brought face cards, which had been expressly forbidden in the packing rules, there was a bit of defiance with some of the girls to some of the main leaders of the camp, a few pranks played groups of girls outside of our local congregation  (shaving cream desserts?  )  and some teasing of the younger girls, etc.  Nothing terrible, happened. One or more of the girls weren't particularly happy to be at camp that week but for the most part I think most of the girls were trying to be good sports.

The most worrisome thing that happened was that once we were at camp, one of the leaders confided in me that she and her husband were getting a divorce.  She was basically an emotional wreck and had been running on pure adrenalin for who knows how long.  Once we got to camp and had everything set up, she pretty much shut down, and slept for one or two days straight.  This which was worrisome for all of the girls, especially for her own daughter who was also a part of the group.  Though none of the girls really knew what was happening, I'm sure the tension was in the air, and the girls were worried about their Camp Director being sick.  

I was trying to be a leader, which really doesn't come naturally to me, especially around teenaged girls.   I never felt like I was a "normal" teenager, and didn't feel that I related too well with the girls. I never felt terribly comfortable as a Young Woman leader, even though this was probably my fourth time working with the Young Women's program, and my first time working with my own daughters in the program.  In short, I really depended a lot on my counselors and the camp directors for their experience and rapport with the girls.  

It was near the end of camp, when we were all pretty well tired out and stressed from all that had happened.  One of the other leaders had asked the girls to do something, probably to finish their chores and gather for our evening campfire devotional or something, and the girls weren't listening and minding.   And I lost it.  I yelled at the girls, something I don't think any of them had ever expected to come from me.  I told them something along the lines that if this was the way they treated their mothers, then I was sorry for them and their mothers.  I think and hope that I apologized for my outburst, but I'm not 100% sure how well I handled it.   In spite of my apology and many heart felt prayers for guidance, and many more struggles over then next year and a half of serving as Young Women's president, I still regret my outburst of temper, and still feel so much remorse for failing to be the leader I had hoped to be.   Though all of the girls are now grown adults, and successfully carrying on wither their lives, many as loving young mothers, I still regret that I wasn't a better example and leader for these wonderful young ladies, and for the other leaders who were so faithfully carrying out their own callings and loving and carrying for these precious daughters of God.

I still don't always do a very good job of controlling my temper.  My family can attest to that.  My dear husband and my dear children have all witnessed or been the object of my anger at times.  I also lost my temper at my boss one day several years ago in a training meeting that included co-workers, my boss's boss, and several members of our CRM software company vendors.   I like to think that I'm doing better with this vice, sin, imperfection or what have you, and I really do mean to keep trying to react to situations and actions or remarks from others without anger and temper.    This is one of my ongoing quests.

Test Scores, Technology

 

Test Scores. AP, GED, CLEP,  ACT, SAT, Accuplacer, Qualtrics, CASAS, LOPE, GRE, MCAT, MAT, LSAT, etc and etc.  If you have attended public school and even thought about attending college, most likely taken one or more of  these tests used to help determine eligibility for entrance, scholarships, and placement into beginning college courses.   Back in April 1977 when I was a high school junior we all took the ACT test one time.  Quite a bit depended on those scores.  I was able to test high enough that along with my high school GPA, I was admitted to and awarded a one year scholarship to the University of my choice.  These test scores are a pretty big deal, and in some families a lot of time, money and effort is spent helping children to earn high test scores on the college entrance exams.  

At the community college, we don't use the test scores as a criteria to determine whether or not a student is admitted to the college.  Any potential student who had earned a high school diploma or equivalent qualifies for admission to the college.  Test scores are however, important for determining the eligibility for certain scholarships, and especially for placement into beginning level Math, English, History, and Science classes.   There has long been debate about the accuracy of testing determining a student's potential ability to succeed in college, but currently most colleges and universities still required placement testing of some sort or another.  During the pandemic many schools have done away with using test scores from entrance exams to determine admissions, but most still require some testing to determine placement into different courses.  It is what it is.  Do you want to go to school and earn a degree?  You'll most likely be required to take and submit your test scores.

Spring and Miracles

 

In my traditional New Year's post this past January, I outlined that one of my main goals and objectives for this year 2023 is to look for and expect miracles.  Basically I decided that this is my theme for 2023, based on a talk given by our current latter day prophet, President Russell M Nelson, back in April of 2022.  Today in our Sacrament Meeting, one of our speakers referred to this talk, so I've decided to take a few minutes and recognize some of the many miracles that I have seen so far this year in 2023.  Some of these may not seem very great of important to many people, but to me they all point to the hand and role that God, our loving Heavenly Father has in our lives.  

This year so far has continued to be somewhat challenging overall and world-wide, but I and my family have also been very blessed.

1.  We have jobs and comfortable homes

2.  We have all experienced overall good health, with no major illness or accidents.  This is no small blessing for us.

3.  Our area, which has been experiencing several years of quite severe drought has received record amounts of snowfall.  

4.  So far, we have had a fairly cool spring, with more moisture and a relatively slow snowmelt with no major flooding in the area.

5.  Both dear sons and their wives, who have had fertility issues in the past, are now expecting new baby boys this coming summer.  We are so excited for everyone to add these precious lives to our families.

6.  Other extended family members have experienced miraculous help and healing with medical issues with their children/grandchildren.

7.  Dear daughter 4 was able to find a new full time job with benefits which will help her with many of her immediate future goals.

8.  Dear daughter 2 has been inactively looking for a new home to purchase since moving back home over a year ago.  She recently made her first very offer to buy a condo that meets her needs and the majority of her wants.  Her first offer was accepted the same day in a still fairly tight housing market.  

9.  After months of snow and cold weather, the spring flowers are finally blooming.  Grandma's gardens now have hyacinths, daffodils, pansies and tulips in bloom!  I love spring and the miracle of new life each and every year!!

10.  A family friend has been blessed with a successful triple bypass heart surgery, and is on the road to recovery.

11.  Another friend was recently in an auto accident where his vehicle slid sideways into a semi trailer.  He had the presence of mind to duck into the passenger seat, and spared major injury.

I'm sure there are many many other examples of miracles happening around us every single day.  Light and truth are here on the earth.  The knowledge and power of God are expanding and the veil over the earth is beginning to burst!  I'm so grateful to live in this challenging yet wonderful time!!  Miracles are happening, and will continue to happen in the coming weeks, months and years. 

In his talk, President Nelson shared five ways we can create spiritual momentum in our lives:  1.  Make and Keep Covenants, 2. Repent  3.  Learn About God  4.  Seek Miracles, and 5.  End conflict.  Please feel free to check out this wonderful advice from a living prophet:

What miracles have you seen in your life this year?

Students First and Foremost, Service

 "Students First and Foremost" was the motto of one of our community college's past leaders.  Sometimes as we work with the problems and challenges of admitting students and keeping their records accurate and confidential, we can inadvertently end up creating roadblocks for students who are trying to navigate the steps to becoming a college student and meeting the eventual goal of earning a college degree.  Isn't that true though in almost any business endeavor, that we sometimes forget about what is best and most important for our customers and clients?  In trying to solve one problem or roadblock, we end up making things more complicated and difficult for the very people we are trying to help and serve!

So, to all of you students out there, past, present and future, please be patient with us and remember we really are on your side.  Unfortunately life is often more complicated than it appears.  If you run into a snag or a problem, please don't give up.  Reach out to someone.  It may take more than one or two or three tries to find your way through the red tape and/or the myriad of offices set up to manage the affairs of the college, but please don't give up.  We're here to serve and help you. We care about you and want to see you succeed and meet your goals and find your dreams.

Students First and Foremost.

Records, Recruitment, and Registrar

We are a record keeping people.  At least for the most part, records are needed to carry out almost any business or important function or transaction.   This is very true in the field of education.  A record is kept that identifies each student who is enrolled in a college or university.  Each student is assigned a unique identifying number.  Names, birthdates, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, major interests and programs of study, classes registered for, added, dropped, or withdrawn from, location, time, and instructors of said classes, tuition and fees charged and paid or waived, grades received, and degrees awarded.  All of these objects are data that needs to be recorded, stored, and reported on in various ways.  Record keeping pretty much sums up my working career.

Records were important to me as a student, but weren't really what I thought about much.  I knew that the University needed to known when I changed my address, my name, and my program of study.  I trusted them to keep accurate records of the classes I attended, my grades, and my progress towards meeting the requirements for my degree.  I still trust them to keep these records.  I receive mail and emails from my alma mater from time to time, and I trust that if I were to order an official transcript of my classes, grades, and degree awarded, they would be able to provide that information to me in a timely manner for a minimal charge.

Our Admissions Office here at the community college is in charge of keeping many of these records of student data.  Admissions is our name, and Recruitment is our game.  Our job is to recruit and enroll as many qualified students to our institution as is possible.  Our CRM or Customer Relation Management software stores students names and contact information, and also is a place where we can record different recruitment outreach emails, text messages, and phone calls made to each prospective student, along with the student's admissions application and any required documentation needed for their specific admissions situation.  We don't require much information from most of our students, generally just their name, birthdate, contact information, educational history, and academic goals.  We also ask for information needed to grant in-state tuition rates to qualified students as required by state law, since we are a state-funded institution.  Accuracy and confidentiality of the records are of vital importance.  Depending on your perspective, that may be a lot of required information that we request, but then again.  Records.

Once a student is admitted to the college, the record keeping responsibilities are passed along to the Registrar of the college and her staff.  The office of the registrar and academic records is another vital area of the college.  Accuracy and confidentiality are again of vital importance.  We work together to create a record of each student's academic history at our college.  We are a record keeping people.

Millennials, Multicultural Diversity

 Millennials, as many have defined, are those who were born in the years 1981-1986.  By this definition, all of my beloved children and their significant others are Millennials!  This term with this meaning didn't exist back in the days of my college years during the late seventies and early eighties, but it has made a huge difference in the way that we reach out to current and prospective students at the community college.   During the years that the Millennial generation was preparing to apply to and attend college, email, and then cell phones were becoming more prevalent as the means of official communication to students.  When I began working at the community college back in 2000, many people still didn't use email or cell phones, and texting was quite costly, so our communications with prospective students were either in person, via landline p phone calls, or paper and  US postal Service.  

Today it is very unusual for someone planning to attend college to not have a smart phone and multiple email addresses.  Most young people don't both much with email any longer, and rely on texting as their preferred method of receiving information.  Hence, the move for colleges and universities to move to emails, and now to text messaging for much of our communications to students.  And now the incoming students belong mostly to Generation X!  That being said, the target audience for the community college includes people of any generation -- baby boomers on up, so we need to be flexible and use a variety of communications. 

Our student body today is also much more multicultural than it was back in the seventies and eighties.  The University that I attended was a church school, and attracted quite a few students from outside the United States, so I was exposed a bit more to people from different cultures than I had been in my small hometown and high school.  In fact, if I remember correctly, my very first date in college was with a gentleman from the country of Peru.  When I met this student at one of the orientation dances, I was excited to talk to him since my older brother was at that time serving as a missionary for our church in the country of Peru.  We went to a movie together, but I declined any other dates since I was still a 17 year old freshman, and  really wasn't interested in getting very involved with someone who was quite a bit older than me during my first semester/year of college.  That being said, the campus was still very predominantly white and Christian.   The community college where I currently work has the most diverse student population of any institution of higher learning in our state as far as race and ethnicity is concerned, and is also very diverse in regards to religion and sexual orientation, and our aim to to make sure that people from all different backgrounds feel welcomed, respected, and included at the school.  This is definitely a challenge.  Even though I see and work with students from many diverse backgrounds every single day, the majority of faculty and staff members are white, and faculty, staff, and students are still sometimes the recipients of prejudiced words and actions, sometimes intentional and sometimes not.  This is an ongoing challenge, not only at our college, but in our country and throughout the world.

Millennial has another meaning for many of us . . . the time period of preparing for the Millennial reign on this earth of the Lord Jesus Christ.  President Russell M. Nelson, prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints says it this way: "A true millennial is a man or woman whom God trusted enough to send to earth during the most compelling dispensation in the history of this world. You were taught in the spirit world to prepare you for anything and everything you would encounter during this latter part of these latter days." 

Does this intrigue you like it does me?   You can watch his full remarks to our wonderful millennial generation here:

I love and admire the Millennial Generation and hope we can all work together to prepare for the glorious time with our Savior Jesus Christ will return again to reign here in this currently troubled world.

Energy, Excitement, Engagement, Enrollment and Education

 

I have just been reading a bit about my first few weeks at college, and there definitely was a lot of energy and excitement there those days.  There were six of us in our dorm apartment, all away from home for the first time.  Back in those days we didn't have cells phones, text messaging, internet, or social media, so most of us first met each other on the day we moved in.  Two of our roommates were cousins who grew up living next to each other, and my roommate and I had been best friends for years, but our other two roommates were moving into an apartment with strangers to them.  Such is college dorm/apartment life!  Thankfully we all hit it off fairly well, and enjoyed spending much of our free time together.  It was exciting to attend all of the orientation activities for new freshmen that were held of the week before school officially started, dances, movies, socials, and the traditional hike up the nearby mountain to the cement block "Y" that prominently sits above the campus.  And of course meeting boys was a big part of the excitement!  And yes, we did meet the boys!

After orientation was the Labor Day weekend, and since I didn't live too far away and my older brother was also attending the same college, we went home to spend Labor Day with our family.  When I arrived back to campus on Monday evening, I was met with more excitement . . . one of my roommates had become engaged over the phone to her boyfriend  who was back home several states away!   It was a challenging engagement for them being separated in those times with only letters and the old fashioned phone on our shared kitchen wall for communication, but they lasted the year and were married the following summer.  

But yes, classes did start, and all of that energy and excitement was directed towards the real purpose of our being there at college; enrollment in our various college courses.  Those first few weeks of class were quite a culture shock for a small town girl from a small high school who had almost always been at the head of the class.  Chemistry with a class full of pre-med majors was my biggest challenge, and I had many long days of class and work at my part time job with long evenings of study trying to keep up.  It was a stressful time, but a good time.  I'm grateful that I had the experience and excitement and energy of attending college.  I'm also grateful that I don't  need to repeat that challenging first year!

Enrollment is a constant topic in my work at the local community college too. It is after all, the goal of the college to increase enrollment.  Enrolled students are our customers, our income, and our purpose . . . . to help our students successfully gain an education to prepare them to continue to be successfully employed citizens who can make a contribution to our world.

Have you enjoyed the energy and excitement of furthering your education by enrolling in college or university?  

Dances, Dates, and Data

 

Dances and Dates played a fairly big role in my college years.  I  didn't really get asked out on dates during my high school years, and I rarely attended dances.  What fun is it being a wallflower and never being asked to dance?  To tell the truth, I was still somewhat of a wallflower during my college years, so rarely attended dances without a date after the first orientation dance.  That being said, there seemed to be more girls or ladies choice type dance events than there were in high school, and during our freshman year my roommates and I often all invited one of our group of friends to the dance and prepared dinner at our apartment before the dance.  I actually don't remember the dances so much as the fun we had together as a group.   I didn't really have single dates during this year, but we had a fun time as a group doing other activities besides eating dinner and going to dances.  There were many low cost movies on campus, times to just go out for ice cream together, or even all going on hikes or cross country skiing.  

My dear husband is a much better dancer than I and enjoyed dances, so we did attend a few more school dances when we were dating, mostly during the summer we met while attending the summer semester after my junior year.   And we dated almost every week that summer.  I have kept and treasure a large Ziggy Calendar that my roommates had given me that year where I wrote down almost every paper and exam . . .  and every date and activity that we did together during that momentous summer before we separated for a year and a half when I went to Colombia to serve as a missionary.  But that is a story for another day or another blog post or two or three.  

Data . . . data is everywhere, and is a large part of what I do every day in my work at the community college.  Names, addresses, educational history, courses, biographical information, contact information . . . it all needs to be collected, corrected, updated, stored and analyzed.  Data entry is for the most part automated in these times, with students initiating the input when filling out online applications and forms, but back in the beginning of my working career, the data was mostly manually entered from paper forms submitted by the students, or even faculty when submitting grades.   The data is essentially more accurate now that the middle data entry person has mostly been eliminated, but managing the data, keeping it safe and secure, and preparing accurate reporting is still a big job.  

Dances, Dates, and Data.  What part do these D words play in your life?

Myself and my dear (future) husband at a dance the summer we met in college.

Contention Vs Civility and Charity -- Our Choice

source

 

This past Sunday, Palm Sunday, I was able to listen to perhaps the finest sermon I have ever heard, delivered by President Russell M Nelson, the world's living prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  This was the perfect message for me, as I have recently been trying to come to terms with one of my own shortcomings, my temper.  Generally it is quite easy for me to keep my cool, and I try to be a peacemaker, but there have been, and sometimes continue to be times when I loose my temper, slam doors, raise my voice, and on occasion even worse.  Unfortunately, most of these instances of temper have been directed at the people I love the most, my dear husband and my children.  But there have also been public displays of my temper in front of my friends at school, my co-workers, and the wonderful and talented young women and the other leaders that I worked with  several years ago at church.  

If any of you dear readers have ever been the object of my anger or my temper, please know that I am truly sorry for my actions, and that I ask for your forgiveness.  When I have previously expressed these sentiments, many have come to my defense with very kind words, but that does not erase the fact that I have lost my temper in the past and most certainly caused hurt to others.  I'm sorry.

"Contention is a choice.  Peacemaking is a choice.  You have your agency to choose contention or reconciliation.  I urge you to be a peacemaker now and always. . . . If there is anything virtuous, lovely or of good report or praiseworthy that we can say about another person, whether to his face or behind his back, that should be our standard of communication."   

Isn't this the most perfect message from the Lord that could be given to our world at the present time?   President Nelson also addressed the subject of Charity and the example displayed by our Savior, Jesus Christ throughout his life not only in word but also his actions.  Blessed are the Peacemakers.  Love your enemies.  Bless them that curse you.  Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.  By this shall men know that ye are my disciples,  if ye have love one to another.   If you need a bit of light and inspiration in your life, I encourage you to listen to these words.

May you all have a very blessed Easter Season full of charity and peace!

Admissions and Addresses

The first step in a person's college career is applying for admission.  It was probably about this time of year back in 1978 when I first applied for admission to two, (or was it three)  different universities in my state.  I applied for admission and scholarships to more than one, as is the common practice, but my heart was set on the private university in the nearby city to the south where all of my older siblings had attended.   Back in those days admissions applications were paper forms that were filled out and submitted to the college or university via US mail, along with any other transcripts, test scores, or letters of recommendation that might be required.  I was very excited and happy when I received word that I had not only been accepted to the university of my choice, but that I had also been awarded a one year scholarship!  Of course that meant that I attended the college of my choice along with my best friend.  We were the only two from our high school that chose to attend there, and it was undoubtedly a sacrifice for my friend, but I was so grateful to be admitted!

When I began working part time for our local community college over twenty years ago, I worked in the department responsible for processing admissions applications.  Back then the college was completely open admission, and anyone who applied was accepted.  Currently a high school diploma is required to be admitted for college credit courses, but there are many other technology programs and community education programs that are available for persons without a high school diploma.  When I began working, paper admissions applications were still the norm, but gradually over the years we also worked with several different versions of online applications, and I currently oversee the admissions processing team that handles most of the college's admissions applications.   The work still involves working mostly at a computer all day long, but now instead of straight data entry from paper, we work at making decisions and resolving errors related to the automated processes that admit students with the online applications.  

Mailing addresses have always been important when processing applications, and email addresses too.  One of my first tasks when I started working at the school was to update student's mailing addresses.  Some students had email addresses back then, but not all students did. Now with so much of the world being digital, we send much less snail mail that we did 20 years ago, but it is still important to have a correct mailing address for each student who applies to the school. Today an email address is required in order to apply for admission.  It's very important to have accurate email addresses and phone numbers, since most of our communication to students is now done via email, and even text messaging.   Our goal in admissions is to make the admissions process as easy and smooth as possible for our current and prospective students.

Have you applied to attend a school recently?  If so, how was your experience?

 

Celebrating Our Savior, Jesus Christ

Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

By Harry Anderson

Source

 It has been a good weekend.  I've had some time with family and some time to finish a few chores, but the best part of this weekend has been the wonderful spirit and messages that were shared in our local stake conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  I wish I could somehow bottle it all and share it with everyone I know.  I took quite copious notes, but sharing those would not do justice to the spirit and messages that I received in the two meetings last night on Saturday and this Sunday morning.  

I would just like to share that today I know even more strongly than ever before in my life that Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.  He is our brother, as we are all children of God, our loving, wise and all knowing Father in Heaven.  Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, who in his perfect life and example, and through voluntarily suffering for our sins and sorrows and laying down his life for all mankind, then reclaiming his life on the third day, has made it possible for all of us to return to our Heavenly Father.  He is the reason for Christmas, the reason for Easter, the reason for life, and he has provided the only way we can return to our Father in Heaven.  He is the only way.   

Please take the time during these next few weeks with Palm Sunday, General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and Easter Sunday to study and learn more about the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, and make him the central focus of your lives.  Reconnect with Him. I promise that you knew him before you started this life on earth.  Please don't let the commotion and the confusion in our world today distract you from Jesus Christ.  He lives.  He loves you.  He loves us all.  He is the only way.

The Resurrected Jesus shows his wounds

"Behold My Hands and Feet"

By Harry Anderson

Source