Stander Symposium
This past Wednesday April 5, 2006, the University of Dayton held their 18th annual Stander Symposium and Honors Convocation to celebrate the academic achievements of UD students. The Symposium begins on Tuesday April 4, with A Red Mass, The Celebration of the Arts, and The Stander Cup. It is called the Red Mass as we call upon the Holy Spirit for our gifts of wisdom, learning, and creativity. The Celebration of the Arts was held at Dayton's Victoria Theater where students in the departments of Music, Visual Arts, Theatre, and Dance along with others shared their talents. The Stander Cup is a physical competition among students, staff, and faculty members.
On Tuesday morning, I started my day off in Frericks listening to this year's keynote speaker, Dr. Jane Goodall. I don't really know where to begin to tell you about this woman. Her courage, perseverance, and passion are inspiring and indescribable. Her work in the African forest to research the lives of chimpanzees makes us all wonder what incredible feats we could accomplish. With unconventional practices, Jane Goodall has changed the way we view the woman scientist. Her unorthodox practices has opened doors for many and as I listened too her, I was in such awe to be in the presence of such wisdom. Yes, I very much enjoyed having her here at UD. After Dr. Goodall, I raced over to VWK where I joined other students from the College of Education and Allied Professions. The keynote speaker for the luncheon was Ellen H. Blair, RN, BSN, CPTC of Life Connection of Ohio. Mrs. Blair talked to the students and staff of our college about the importance of organ donation as she shared her son's own tragic story of heroism. With all of that inspiration it was time for me to present my thesis.
After lunch I packed my bags and headed to the Ballroom in Kennedy Union where 100 other students also presented their poster presentations on various research. Because this is such a popular event, the stander committee decided to have two rounds of poster sessions. One hundred students presented at 1:00 pm and another 100 or so presented at 3:00 pm. This is my third year presenting and every year it is very different. This year having the two sessions, it wasn't as crowded, which was nice. My mom drove up for the afternoon so it was also very exciting to introduce her to my family away from home. It was flattering to hear all of the kind words people had to say to my mom and I was glad she was able to participate in this day with me. I think she enjoyed the Stander at times more than me. Being the Director of an Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, she was asking all kinds of questions to the students who chose to research health care. Poor things.
After we had learned all we could, we decided to walk around campus a bit. We stopped by registrar and I picked up a copy of my transcripts that I had to order for prospective employers. We also talked to my "family" in the Admissions Office and talked about Graduation celebrations. Then we grabbed something to eat before the Honors Convocation.
The Honors Convocation was held in Frericks. The professors in attendance were in academic garb and students being recognized from a variety of departments were lined up behind them. We processed in. Some of the head honchos talked, and then they called us up by name and presented us with a pen to signify all of the hard work we had done. It was a very nice ceremony and there were so many important people in my life that were there to share it with me. After the ceremony, there were appetizers and we stayed for a couple hours later just talking with professors from all over the University.
I was even able to introduce my mom to Dr. Dan, or as you probably know him, Dr. Curran, the President of the University. I was also able to remind him of that future renovation I was looking forward to see happen for Chaminade, the building which houses classes for the School of Education. You see, when teachers graduate from UD, they don't make enough money to give back to their Alma Mater. We, unlike business, engineer, and Pre-med graduates cannot give thousands and millions back to renovate classrooms and buildings. Therefore, poor little Chaminade has been over looked for quite some time now. Maybe if all of the graduates of UD's Teacher Education program just gave five dollars we would have enough to carpet the floors. Okay, I'm getting a little bitter and whiney. I'll stop now, I think you get the point. If there's one thing you should know about UD, it's that Dr. Dan cares about everything the students here have to say. We can be honest with him, and he continues to take care of the students and make decisions in their best interest. I don't know if many people know who the president of their University or Colleges is, but at UD, everyone knows Dr. Dan. He comes to student masses, he attends student activities and events, and he really tries to get to know all the students he meets. We are very blessed to have him here.
Well, I guess that's about all I have to say. No, I haven't heard back from my interview yet. Yes, it's almost been two weeks. The principal did say she was interested in having me back to interview with the team, and would I like to do that. However, that was the final word I have so far. I sent my thank you letter and even left a voice mail. Let's just keep our fingers crossed that something good will happen soon.
If you want to find out more about the Stander Symposium you can go to http://stander.udayton.edu.
Apr 7, 2006 6:51 PM
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