Author : Dean Furbush
For our first official blog entry, we have an announcement.
We’ve recently refined and updated the way we articulate our values. We’re still wanting to live up to the same ideals we had before, but we realized that we needed the articulation to be fresher, more memorable, more evocative. Over the last fifteen years, College Summit has grown in size, matured in processes, and in relationship clarity. So importantly, we’ve added more diverse voices, and increased our emphasis on listening to each other and including each other, knowing the immense value that brings to our mission fulfillment. Our revised values highlight the perspectives that have shaped us in the past and will continue to help us improve in the future:
- the heart of a great teacher
- the mind of an innovator
- the spirit of an inspired student.
The last one particularly resonates with me: the spirit of an inspired student. At this time of year, especially, it’s tangible for us. At high school graduations all across the country, you see it clearly. Students are totally proud of completing high school, and they’re usually thrilled to share that triumph with friends and family. They’re often reflective about the past four years, they know how much they’ve grown, and they’re excited about their futures that lie ahead. Their confidence and joy are palpable.
I also see this same kind of spirit present in our summer workshops that begin next week. Peer Leaders arrive on local college campuses not completely knowing what’s in store, but they’re positively energized by those staff, peers and volunteers that surround them. Workshop writing sessions and rap sessions are designed to be challenging, bringing out the spirit of Peer Leaders. The spark, the buzz that they will bring back to their schools next fall is their spirit at work.
And, at our annual summer learning conference, the College Summit Institute, educators become students again, learning all they can from one another about how to strengthen the college-going culture in their school. Their collective spirit becomes evident in active learning sessions, where they dive deeply into a multitude of new research, real-classroom experiences and shared challenges.
If your spirit needs innovation and inspiration, join us this summer at a workshop or at the Institute—you’ll see and feel the spirit we refer to in our new values.
