Getting that Senioritis

Happiness/more or less/It's just a change in me/ Something in my liberty/Oh, my, my/ Happiness/Coming and going/I watch you look at me/Watch my fever growing/I know just where I am/ But how many corners do I have to turn?/How many times do I have to learn /All the love I have is in my mind?/ But I'm a lucky man
With fire in my hands

-The Lucky Man - Verve Pipe 

For the last five years, our top CDs have had a special training pathway for future leadership at Citizen Schools and related positions in the education and non-profit fields. The Senior Campus Director position has been rewarding exceptional CD performance and encouraging longer CD tenure (since the longer CDs stay, the more their students achieve). Senior CDs: Run model campuses and lead their peers as regional/national trainers and mentors Pair up with a mentor, internal or external, to support their continued professional growth and development. Participate in select National Strategy Retreats Convene periodically as a group to assess their progress and share best practices Receive a salary boost each year they remain as Senior CDs A Selection Committee comprised of organizational leaders who have a programmatic or recruitment focus has chosen this year’s cohort for meeting these criteria: 1. Served for two full program years as a Campus Director 2. Achieved strong-to-exceptional performance on their Program Scorecard throughout their tenure 3. Demonstrated skill in staff development 4. Demonstrated thought leadership and organizational-building skill at the regional and/or national levels (e.g., trainer, peer exchange, campus contribution to best practices distribution) We’re proud to introduce the six newest Senior Campus Directors!

Life is crazy! One moment you are struggling, the next you feel like you are on the top of the world. Its a unique story that started in Schenectady,NY in 2005. I was a file clerk and janitor at a private practice dental office. I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life. I had taken the LSAT and done poorly on it. I remember talking to Dr. Donald Liebers one morning during one of our 5 mile runs. We talked about life. I had express to him my frustration about my current situation.  His response was " you just gotta bust ass and do what's necessary to get to were you want to be. There's no substitute for hard work!"  Now five years and 4 states later, here I am in a better position to do work that I'm passionate about.

I was recently re-reading the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo. It follows a young Shepherd name Santiago on his journey to fulfill his destiny or "Personal Legend". There is two quotes that stuck with me from that book.

Quote #1
When you know [the Universal Language], it’s easy to understand that someone in the world awaits you, whether it’s in the middle of the desert or in some great city.  And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant.  There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only.  It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world.  Without such love, one’s dreams would have no meaning

Quote #2
And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

While I am still waiting for Quote #1 to happen lol, I believe quote #2 to has some truth in it. When you want to accomplish something and other people are in agreement of that endeavor people will support and aide you so that feat is completed. If you haven't read the Alchemist its a good read, pick it up!