March has been an odd month. A personal story: my family has been sick more this year than we have been in the past decade. For these first two weeks, I have been at more doctor’s appointments than I care to think about. After my son’s fifth school absence, I sent a general note to his teachers explaining that in addition to illness, we also had some medical tests. My son is 16 and works hard to maintain honor roll grades. But he has fallen a little behind, and so I thought it was worth reaching out. 

While I did not ask for any response, his biology teacher replied to the message. Some background: my son doesn’t like science. Ninth grade earth science was dreadful. But Mr. D. is one of those teachers that makes biology make sense. Also, it is rare for parents of high school students to get any teacher feedback outside of grades. Parent-teacher conferences are usually reserved for elementary school. His message was “Charlie is an extraordinary student. He is smart, creative, and has a great sense of humor.  You must be so proud of him!”   

I immediately teared up, but what was so amazing was sharing that with my son. My regularly anxious, sometimes sullen, teenager smiled. It was one of those big, grinning toothy ones, and he said, “He’s the best.” 

I share this because March, in its stretch of ‘maybe winter, maybe spring’ catch-all-the-illnesses can feel daunting. Maybe you are just hanging on for spring break, or graduation. Maybe you’ve been sick like us. I am here to tell you that what you do, whether it’s teaching, researching, counseling, or advocating for change, matters. It matters because you will never know how you are influencing the students or colleagues around you. 

In this month’s newsletter, we hope that you enjoy reading about some of our amazing alumni and all they’ve done in their careers to change lives. Thank you so much for all you do. 

Warmly,

Kirsten Halker-Kratz

Assistant Dean, Development and Alumni Relations

PS: If you are attending this year’s AERA annual meeting, please be sure to reach out to me at kirsten.halker-kratz@temple.edu. We would love to see you at our reception on April 13!