MU vs. UW

December 8, 2018 (342/365)

"Ring Out Ahoya with an MU Rah Rah...!"

A Place in My Heart

 November 25, 2018 (329/365)

“When you leave a beautiful place, you carry it with you wherever you go.” - Alexandra Stoddard

You MUST Go Home Again!

 September 1, 2018 (244/365) • Marquette Alumni Regatta

They say, "You can't go home again," yet, I've always felt that home is a feeling more than a place. Ann Mah, states it perfectly in The Lost Vintage: “I had spent enough time in France to know that the words chez moi meant something a thousand times more profound than one's current home. Chez moi was the place your parents came from, or maybe even the region of your parents' parents. The food you ate at Christmas, your favorite kind of cheese, your best childhood memories of summer vacation -- all of these derived from chez moi. And even if you had never lived there, chez moi was knitted into your identity; it colored the way you viewed the world and the way the world viewed you.” (Mah, The Lost Vintage). I feel this way about Sturgeon Bay, about Paris, and about Marquette -- especially the Marquette University Sailing Team (MUST). Today's Alumni Regatta was almost rained out, but we got there in time to see the new fleet sail home. 

Ivy League Aspirations

 June 9, 2018 (160/365)

"None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. 

We got here because somebody - a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony, or a few nuns - 

bent down and helped us pick up our boots." ~ Thurgood Marshall

The Difference

May 9, 2018 (129/365)

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Today I salute the wonderful educators who made a difference in my own life. Too many of them are gone, but their legacies live on in the hearts and minds of thousands of students, like me, who were transformed by their teaching. 

Thank you | Merci:

• to Carol Pluta who first taught me to count, to sing songs, and to say simple phrases en français. She fostered a love of French and travel that changed my life both personally and professionally.

• to Sisters Nivard, Rosemarie, Theresa, Odilla, Prosper, Frances, and Berna. They were strict but always kind. They taught me to respect and trust God, authority, my peers, and myself.

• to Mrs. Lippert who impressed me with her love of literature as she read aloud in her lilting Scottish brogue. This passion for reading that she inspired would eventually lead me to a double major and a twenty-year career as a French and English teacher.

• to Mrs. G, my high school yearbook adviser, who cultivated my creativity. She taught me to take and develop interesting photographs and to design attractive layouts. She encouraged me to continue writing and to carefully edit my work. (I do need to be more diligent about this.)

• aux Professeurs Brigitte Coste, Steven Taylor, Jean-Pierre LaFouge, Béatrice Ness, and Jeannette Kraemer qui m'ont enseignée à communiquer en français et à aimer la littérature française du Moyen Âge au XXe siècle. They encouraged me to travel and immerse myself in the French language and culture. They inspired me to go to graduate school to become a teacher.

• to Father John Naus who personified Marquette's motto, "Be the Difference!" Father Naus taught me that we rarely succeed at anything unless we have fun doing it, to see written on the forehead of everyone you meet "make me feel important," that laughter is one of God's greatest gifts, to lip-sync "watermelon" if you can't remember the words to a song, that miniature carnations will brighten your room for a week, and that the Godspell soundtrack will stick in your head like an endless, looping prayer. He inspired me to teach with passion and to show my own students and the teachers whom I coach how much I truly care about them and their work. Some of the lovely inserts included in over 25 years of Father Naus' Christmas cards still hang in my office reminding me to value wonder, to have faith, to be kind, and to enjoy life. 

These amazing teachers changed my life and I am humbled and blessed to walk in their footsteps. I am also grateful and honored to work side-by-side with equally dedicated educators who teach, who inspire, who challenge, who encourage, who care, who make a difference. 

National Marquette Day

February 3, 2018 (034/365)

"Wherever you go and whatever ends you pursue, you must always fulfill the trust 

reposed in you by your nation, your parents and your alma mater." ~ Samar Mubarakmand

[In other words, "Be the Difference!" Happy Marquette Day!]

Be the Difference

October 23, 2017 (296/365)

“Go forth and set the world on fire.” ~ St. Ignatius of Loyola

The Butterfly Effect

October 9, 2017 (282/365)

“You have been created in order that you might make a difference. You have within you the power to change the world.” ~ The Butterfly Effect: How Your Life Matters. The butterfly effect is a scientific theory that a single occurrence, no matter how small, can change the course of the universe forever. At Marquette, we were taught to "Be the Difference," to trust that the smallest acts of kindness, wisdom, and innovation have the power to transform the future. What a wonderful philosophy for educators! It is an awesome task that can leave one feeling a bit battered like that butterfly in this pictures. But what could possibly be more important?

A Day of Kindness

September 26, 2017 (269/365)

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." ~ Aesop

I have many fond memories of my years at Marquette University, but perhaps the most lasting and meaningful were the thirty minutes that I spent each night in St. Joan of Arc chapel. After a long day of lectures, sailing practice, studying, etc., the 10:00 pm Mass was my solace, my center, my peace. It was warm and reverent and filled with faith, friends, and music. Every night was special, but on Tuesday nights, it was standing room only as we gathered around Father John Naus -- a Jesuit priest, a clown, a philosopher, a mentor, and a friend. He dedicated his life to teaching people to have faith, to think deeply, and to laugh. Father Naus taught me many things that, years later, still make me smile:

• Find out what you love and you'll never work another day in your life! (displayed on the bulletin board by my desk at school.)
• Eastern philosophy is more fun with fortune cookies, balloon animals make exams less stressful, miniature carnations will brighten your room for a week, and the Godspell soundtrack will stick in your head like an endless, looping prayer. 
• We rarely succeed at anything unless we have fun doing it.
• Clowns (like Tumbleweed) don't have to be scary.
• If you forget the words to a song, just lip-sync "watermelon!"
• Laughter is one of God's greatest gifts.
• See written on the forehead of everyone you meet: "make me feel important."

At Father Naus' memorial Mass four years ago today, we sang "Rejoice and Be Glad" and my heavy heart began to lighten. I realized that my tears that night were not really sadness for myself but for the generations of Marquette students who would never be blessed to have known this extraordinary man. Yet Father Naus' generous spirit lives in all of us whom he taught to "Be The Difference" and his philosophy continues to be a lesson for everyone. Since he passed away in 2013, the Marquette Community has dedicated September 26th as the Father Naus Day of Kindness. To participate, simply find a way to brighten someone's day - so simple, so powerful, so Father Naus.

Marquette Alumni Regatta

September 16, 2017 (259/365)

"Sailing a boat calls for quick action, a blending of feeling with the wind and water 

as well as with the very heart and soul of the boat itself. Sailing teaches alertness and courage, 

and gives in return a joyousness and peace that but few sports afford." ~ George Matthew Adams

French Friday: Chartres

June 23, 2017 (174/365)

« Il n'y a plus de cathédrale après Chartres ! 

... là j'ai vraiment senti ce que c'est que l'architecture. »

  ~ Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, architecte

Chartres Cathedral is the finest example of French Gothic architecture 

and a pilgrimage destination since its dedication in 1220 AD.

Cloth worn by the Virgin Mary during the birth Christ, given to Chartres in 876

The original labyrinth which the faithful followed on their knees

Chartres was the inspiration for Gesu Church (1887) 

on the campus of Marquette University

Complimentary

 April 20, 2017 (110/365)

"Why do two colors, put one next to the other, sing?" ~ Picasso
In this case, they're singing my school song -- "Ring Out Ahoya!" 💙💛

National Marquette Day

January 28, 2017 (028/365)

"Love and kindness are never wasted. 

They always make a difference. 

They bless the one who receives them, 

and they bless you, the giver."

~ Barbara De Angelis 

Happy National Marquette Day! #BeTheDifference

Perspective

January 15, 2017 (015/365)

"Faith gives you a sense of inner strength, a sense of balance 

and perspective in life." ~ Gregory Peck

The Reason for the Season

December 20, 2016 (255/366)

"Christmas is joy...an inner joy of light and peace." ~ Pope Francis

Homecoming

October 3, 2016 (277/366)

"Homecoming means coming home to what is in your heart." ~ Anonymous

It's Homecoming week, both in Pewaukee and at Marquette.

As a traveler, I've realized that whether you stay for years or just an hour...

...some places remain in your heart forever and remind you of who you are.

"...the sense of homecoming that follows, when you suddenly remember 

what it feels like to be yourself.” ~  Tom Perrotta, The Leftovers

This place reminds me of who I am and what I'm meant to do.

"To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it  

the more fit for its prime function of looking forward." ~ Margaret Fairless Barber