This is the completion of my official retirement blog. I did exactly what I said I would do. I have a story for every student contact day. I will be branching out a little bit because I still have many stories to share. Stay tuned to the front page and you will see the blog continue. There are very few things that get to me like the entry of the students as 9th graders through a gauntlet of teachers that they will have for the next four years. The gauntlet as they leave as seniors is more of a tear-jerker. Now and then a special student is highlighted but I wanted to go to the hardest ones I have ever participated in. My daughter Kaila went to Rangeview and I had a chance to see her walk through the gauntlet as a 9th grader and exit as a senior in 2010. Retiring this year also coincided with Kaila getting her Master’s Degree in Public Administration. She has vaulted into life after Rangeview and grabbed it with both hands. She has had a couple of positions at the University of Wyoming since her graduation from there in 2015. She started in the Office of the President, moved to help open the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, and is now in the Equal Opportunity Report & Response. She is an Office Manager and Intake Coordinator. We don’t get to see firsthand what the world beyond our walls for our graduates but I have been lucky. Kaila is doing highly important work. Vassar, Columbia MS, Rangeview, and the University of Wyoming prepared for this journey. I know there is more to come and I wish the same success for every student that has walked through my doors. I have had fun, joked, and argued with students but my wish is always for the best to be laid out before them. I just have to remind them sometimes of my philosophy in life: Life isn’t fair but it is balanced. I tell them that they will have victories and to embrace them no matter how big or small they are. We are living in a time where everyone is focused on the bad that happens and often will miss the good things. Embrace the victories and joy that come down the road. The picture for today is the picture of Kaila after her commencement a few weeks ago.
