Welcome!

Hey everyone -

I told myself about a year ago that I wanted to create a blog once I graduated from college to keep people updated on how my life is going, and more selfishly, to give me an outlet to write. While I'm not graduating until next month, I wanted to start it early because things are going to get pretty hectic beginning in late May. I'm going to try to update the blog multiple times per week, so check back often if you'd like.

Graduation is quickly approaching. Classes end in two weeks, and commencement is on May 16th. April and May are exciting times around Wash U, as there are a bunch of senior activities going on, banquets to attend, etc. I'll have more on the emotions surrounding graduating from college in later posts.

One of the things that has kept me busy this school year has been serving as the co-chair of Wash U's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The big undertaking this semester was the planning of Wash U's first annual Athlete Formal. Last summer, I traveled to Pittsburgh for the UAA (which is the conference we play in) SAAC conference. I got the idea of bringing an athlete formal to Wash U after hearing that the University of Rochester has done this in the past with success. The planning that began last semester and that continued in earnest this semester finally culminated on Thursday - the day of the Formal. From all indications, the event was a success. We completely sold out with 280 athletes attending. The night included bus trips from Wash U to a venue near downtown St. Louis, salsa lessons, dinner, performances by Wash U singing and dance groups, lots of dancing, and the naming of the Formal King and Queen. I am not personally a fan of formals (not a good dancer and hate to get dressed up), but being in charge of this event was a great experience. If you know anything about Wash U, you know that money is not an obstacle in anything that goes on here. Having a budget of $8,500 was great - we were able to hire a DJ, cater food, rent out a nice place, pay for transportation, hire entertainment, and have great decorations. We were also able to donate about $1,200 to the YWCA, which is a charity that helps inner-city women. (The picture included in this post is of me announcing the Formal King & Queen.) To see the night go off without any major hiccups was very relieving. Hopefully this is an event that will continue well into the future.

In other news, Teach For America is putting the St. Louis incoming corps members up in the downton Hilton from April 24 - 26. One of the things I'll be doing during the weekend is interviewing with Saint Louis Public School principals. Hopefully I'll know where I am teaching sometime soon after the interviews, but many times the school placements aren't known until the summer. In any case, I'm looking forward to the weekend. In several weeks, I will be traveling to Houston during the first week of June for a five week intensive training institute. While in Houston, I'll teach summer school and participate in workshops detailing lesson plan creation, classroom management, learning theory, etc. It will be intense -- 16 hour days.

Running has been non-existent for the past month. I came down with mono four weeks ago, and Iwas pretty much bed-ridden for the first week. I am now starting to gain back some energy, which is nice. Missing my senior outdoor track season has been rough, but I've thought a lot about putting things into perspective and I am content with how things have turned out. I have focused the energy that I have been able to muster on thinking about how I'm going to structure my classroom next fall, and I have attempted to make an impact on the track team in other ways than running...which has been rewarding.

OK - this is too long for one post. Upcoming topics will hopefully include: IU hiring Tom Crean, my take on the presidential election, my thoughts on the American educational system, TFA updates, graduation updates, Brooklyn updates, and more! Feel free to leave a comment -- I'd love it if you did!!

Best,
Brandon