It’s that time of year!  The stretch from Holiday break to Spring Break can be riddled with challenges and the daily dose of fighting off the winter doldrums.  Even in the wake of creatively crafted electives week offerings, snow sports activities, and the best of winter campfire efforts, the grind can get the best of you. Not to mention the Seniors’ experience of waiting on college decisions and fending off  trepidation.

GRIT!  That’s what it takes along with a “You got this” attitude. We talk often with our students about Grit, Resilience, and Perseverance, and hope that it inspires and makes a difference.  On Wednesday of this week, our community meeting was run by our student ambassadors, as it is every Wednesday.  I listened with attentiveness and in amazement, watched as Senior, Jacob Genga, presented this message in his own way and through his own story.  I watched and listened as he encouraged his fellow students to approach each day with a new eye on the opportunity they had.  He commented on difficulties he had been through and overcome. He thanked those that had been there for him in the toughest of times, and he spoke proudly and eloquently of the grit and determination it had taken in order to get to where he is now.  I can attest that Jacob has whipped the doldrums of life and knows how to approach them when they sweep in and present him with new challenges and the demand for a gritty application of one’s full self.  I was moved by this moment, and deeply reminded how powerful a resource our student body can become when they work together.

Three weeks until Spring Break and here’s to GRIT.  You guys got this!

Greg Vogel, Ex. Director of Program and Culture