It's that time of year again! Kathay ponders the year...
I had a little night out with my favorite fellas this last weekend--our Honorable Director, Kevin, and my husband Jason (also a member of the HC). We took Kevin to his first ever Tiger basketball game! They won but it would have been fun either way because, well, we always have fun.
Kevin, Kathay, and Jason |
Kevin mentioned that as he looked around he was surprised when he saw someone he didn't know. That made me think about how many people make it to every game, every event. I can even tell you where they sit. If I don't see Joey Linn (our VP for Student Affairs) in his spot I almost get a little bit worried! The Fort Hays senior leadership crew isn't known for sitting still, they are constantly on the move. This isn't always the case at other universities and we are lucky to have people who are so invested in connecting with everyone they can, in many different ways.
But let's not forget who else shows up. Hundreds of students commit their time and effort to be on teams, to play in bands, to display their art, to engage in research, to volunteer, to travel, to work. These are not (necessarily) degree requirements. Sure, they are often rewarded with scholarships and valuable experiences but you can get in and out with a degree without doing that, if you choose. Honorables don't usually take that route, nor do so many others who are just as committed, notably student athletes. Jason has recently found a passion for Tiger basketball and he's always so impressed with the dedication these students put in day after day. I've always been extra excited about Tiger basketball because we have a whole crew of Honorables who are there for pep band and a few on the cheer team. (Don't think we don't love all our athletic programs but it's basketball season, afterall, so it's at the front of our minds.)
When some of us are finally breathing a sigh of relief after the official end of classes, athletes and musicians sacrifice days of their breaks and put so much work into their passions. They bring Tiger Nation together.
They aren't doing it alone either. Countless coaches, assistants, trainers, administrators, drivers, media staff, and beyond are there alongside them. When we all leave Gross Memorial Coliseum and file out of the parking lot to our respective stop sign lines, and Victor E. goes to curl up in his den, not everybody leaves. Someone has to get things back to a pristine state. Janitorial and maintenance crews, inside and out, make it look like nobody was ever there. They sweep up our dropped popcorn, they change bulbs, they find forgotten mittens, they fix things when storms whip through, they keep all the floors amazingly shiny, they tend to water main breaks (but thankfully not terribly often). From our cherished Mark who diligently keeps our Forsyth basement looking like we don't make frequent messes, to the crews who set up commencement just to take it back down and set up for a game, they are working tirelessly to make sure Tiger Nation has a nice place to be together.
For everyone who does more than they need to, who works harder so others don't have to, who spends hours off the clock, who takes those urgent calls at weird hours, who are working invisible jobs...we see you. We appreciate you. Sometimes it feels like too much. It was a challenging semester for many but we got through it. Students get overwhelmed, staff get overworked, leadership gets overburdened. It's the reality of our work, sometimes. The vast majority of people you'll meet on campus are here because they value the work we do. We all do it very differently and we all value different things about it, but we don't call it Tiger Nation because we're all the same. We call it Tiger Nation because it takes everyone to keep it roaring along. It takes different minds to find paths to the same goals. It takes big jobs and small jobs to get where we need to be. It's not perfect, and the path isn't always clear, but we try our hardest--from top to bottom--to make sure we're all going together.
As we like to say in the Honors College: "Progress, not perfection."
May we all find rest when it can be had.
May we all find what brings us joy during the holiday season.
May 2023 be a year of continued progress!