The winter of 2015 has been one for the record books in Maine, and in New England generally. I'm widely known as a wimp when it comes to cold and wind, so I spent most of February hunkered down in Unity House, where I was safe from the harsh weather.
In fact, Unity House is so well insulated and so "tight" that there are no drafts, and even the sound of the howling wind is muted.
Plus, we have the indoor plants to remind us of the green world.
I'm teaching the Honors section of Composition and Communication II, and in February I realized that my class is small enough to hold it at Unity House.
"Y'all are young and strong," I said to the students after a snow day. "How about you walk down to Unity House, instead of me walking up to class?"
"Will the dogs be there?" they asked.
They agreed -- and now it's spring, at least on the calendar, and we can even hold class out on the patio!
Next up -- green grass!
On April 18, Stephen and I welcomed a record-breaking group of
prospective students to the Unity campus. After a morning and afternoon
of immersion activities with current students and faculty, we held a reception
for prospective Honors Program students to meet with me and co-director Aimee Phillippi, and a vibrant group from our current Honors cohort.
Having so many current Honors students available made things easy
for me and Aimee -- all we had to do was find out the interests of the newbies,
and then introduce them to current students who knew something about their
interests -- and those interests are quite diverse!
Our most excited current student may have been Nick Newcomb, who
high-fived two students who, like him, are investigating the Earth and
Environmental Science major. Captive Wildlife Care and Education majors
enjoyed telling their stories to those interested in pursuing that major, and
talking about the small animal room. Wildlife Bio folks talked about their
experiences on projects like the Unity College Bear Study.
Meanwhile, Stephen answered questions from parents about
where the college is headed, and how Unity prepares students for careers in the
green economy and for success in the knowledge economy.
And thankfully, it was a beautiful day! I loved seeing
people gathered out on the patio again, enjoying the sun and the birds, and the beauty that surrounds us at Unity College.
