#60 - See a Friend I Haven't Seen in at Least 3 Years

I put this item on my list every year because I love connecting with friends, especially friends I haven't seen in quite awhile. Then pandemic certainly put a lot of time and distance between people, so 3 years feels more like 1. 

I was back in Boston in February 2019 for a NIRSA conference and haven't been back since. When Michigan men's ice hockey qualified for the Frozen Four, which was to be held in Boston, I texted Al to see if we could go, and he quickly said yes. So I texted Angela to let her know I was coming, and ta da: a trip to Boston.

While I did get to see Michigan play in the Frozen Four, take my first (of what will be many) trips to Salem, and had my first (of what will be many hot pot meals, certainly the best part of the trip was catching up with friends. I'm so thankful everyone's schedules allowed for some activities and also some down time, just catching up and being together. 

Bonus: Adam Borson moved to Chicago and we caught a game!

#30 - Have a New Culinary Experience

I have no idea why I've never been to a hot pot spot. I like having lots of options and trying new things. I like all the flavors. And I definitely like an activity. So when Angela suggested hot pot when I was visiting Boston this year, I was all about it. 

We ordered all the things she and Patrick usually order, and I picked a few I wanted to try. 

It wasn't until Patrick suggested I could just add things to my list that I realized this was kinda already on my list. I'm pretty pleased that this year is all about checking things off the list without making an effort to do so... or even really realizing they're things on the list. Instead, I just do things I've been wanting to do. Yay! 

S

#4 - Submit Another Piece of Writing for Publication

 I don't have a ton of motivation to write for publication, particularly academic articles, but I was very intrigued with my former cohortmate and current friend and colleague Dr. Conor McLaughlin asked me to work on an article with him. I'm not going to share much here, as it's only been submitted recently. I will say that it was so easy to work with Conor, and I'm hoping we find more ways to collaborate in the future, in writing or on other projects!

#2 - Submit a Proposal for a New Class

In my undergraduate physical education program, I took a sports ethics class that was one of the best classes I've ever taken. The professor had us reading, writing, and watching stories of sport, seeing the power and the inconsistencies in sporting environments. In the last class, several of us were tearing up, watching the final scene of Varsity Blues, a film I had only laughed at before. Ever since I started teaching college-level courses, I dreamed of proposing and teaching a sports ethics or sports leadership course.

I wrote this item with the goal of proposing that course at DePaul. Well, that still hasn't happened. 

Instead, I took advantage of DePaul's first year experience program, which is called Chicago Quarter, where faculty members from any department can propose a course that has direct connections to DePaul and is cotaught with a staff member and a student, who talk about general resources and options at DePaul. 

At the University of San Diego, I had taught the first-year course Emerging Leaders twice, where we used the leadership for social change model to have student reflect on how they can and do exercise leadership in relation to themselves, the the people around them, and the larger community. I took that idea and proposed a course to explore leadership for social change in Chicago. In the course, we will start at the community level, studying people from and in Chicago who have worked for social change (e.g., Jane Addams, Fred Hampton, and Ida B. Wells). Then, they'll work with small groups to explore current and past social change initiatives and events. Then, they'll reflect on their roles as individuals and how they might want to participate in social change themselves. Throughout the quarter, we'll take excursions into the city to check out and take tours of relevant sites. 

I'm so excited the course has been accepted. There are still politics and logistics because I'm an adjunct faculty member, so departments are resistant to pay may salary from their budgets, even though they want my contributions, but I've been assured the course will run.

I'm super excited to collaborate with a staff member and student to create a really exciting, engaging course, where we get to dive into our city's history and current fights for social change.