Greetings! 

 

I witnessed a momentous event on Friday: Autumn Adkins' '10 investiture as President of Girard College. The Inquirer noted that she was overcome by tears as she realized the powerful impact of being named the first African American woman President in this school founded to educate white orphan boys. I saw something else. I saw a professional who was moved to tears by the realization that she is about to fulfill her childhood dreams. I saw a leader who is mobilized and moved by the magnitude of the task before her. I witnessed the beginning of a promising new era in Girard's history.

 

We have had several "AHA" moments at Girard College in the years that we have held class there. My favorite was when Dr. Vince Pearson '03 stood to share his "defining moment" on Core class opening day. He said that he grew up in the neighborhood just outside the walls of Girard College, and had picketed for integration there standing along the side of Martin Luther King, Jr. early in his teens. He marched outside the walls to protest. His defining moment was that day in class because finally - in his 50's - this was his first time inside the walls of Girard College. His story was made more touching still when Girard alumnus Alan Sharavsky '00 told me that when he was a student, seeing the tops of those pickets from inside the walls gave him a glimpse of hope and the freedom outside of the walls, which sometimes made him feel imprisoned.

 

We are so grateful to be witness to many moments like these, and hope that you too stand still long enough to notice and savor these moments, great and small.