Surprise! 40 Under 40

First off, I have to say: Springfield has been so good to me. 

Something really unexpected happened this week. I got an email letting me know I had been selected to the Springfield Business Journal's 2014 40 Under 40, an award that 'recognizes the area's brightest and most accomplished up-and-coming young businesspeople.'

Um... what? I was totally shocked. And honestly felt a little silly telling my family and friends about it. This past year I was chosen as 417 Magazine's 20 Under 30. When I told my brother about 40 Under 40, I promised him that there are more young professionals besides just me living in Springfield, and no, I wasn't nominating myself. I have no idea who nominated me for either (so if it was you, fess up).

It is definitely humbling to receive either of these recognitions. Receiving both in one year is just too much. So it was hard to even tell anyone. In my mind I already was hearing all the jokes, 'What's next? 70 under 70?' I could see the eye rolls from people who don't care, or don't think I'm deserving, or just think that any of the awards are a big fat joke. I didn't want to or know how to tell anyone about 40 Under 40. 

But then I saw who else is being given this award. So many of my friends, peers, and mentors. I started getting super excited to be able to celebrate with them, especially because I missed the 20 Under 30 celebration last year. 

And then it hit me. Dude. Kim. You work hard. You love your community. You have given it a lot over the past decade. You have had a pretty incredible year. And you didn't fall on the ice even once these past few weeks. As stressed and anxious as I can get over work or projects, when I look at all that I have accomplished this past year, it has been extraordinary. 2013 is one year I will never forget. That thought alone puts my stress in perspective. 

We are all our own worst critics. I so often feel as if I'm not doing enough, or not doing this whole life thing as awesome as I should. This recognition is a huge pat on the back saying, 'Hey. You're okay.' 

So, I decided to be proud to be named to another 'insert age' Under 'insert other age' list. :)  I think lists are driving my life this year, and I love lists. 

And hey, if I'm going to enter a new decade, I might as well get a pretty award for it. :)

A huge thank you to whoever nominated me and to the judges who selected me. And an enormous congratulations to everyone else who made the list! I look up to so many of you and am so honored to be in the same class as you.

The issue will be out the week of March 3rd. I'll post the article when it is published. http://sbj.net/main.asp?SectionID=48&SubSectionID=108&ArticleID=96389 

Now what to wear?

An Unexpected Detour

I work at a college campus. As employees, we are aware of the threat this can pose. We often see in the media of different school shootings that have recently taken place.

Today, a threat happened in Springfield. We now know, two seperate events took place at almost the same time. One involving a serious threat that the campus was made aware of from Homeland Security, and one involved a dispute that allegedly resulted in an individual showing a gun at another university campus right up the road from my college.

You can read more about the threats here. 

This resulted in my campus going on a lockdown. I was in my classroom with my class of high school students. It was speech day, so a student was at the front of the classroom. 

When we were made aware of the lockdown from a Safety & Security officer, we went to the back corner of the room, locked the door and shut out the lights. This classroom is next to the side entrance to the building, that happens to be the first building down the street from where the gun incident took place. 

There is a big window to the hall in my class, so we quickly moved into a large closet in the back of the room. 

My students were all able to text or call their parents as we looked to social media for updates. 

Thankfully, both suspects were apprehended and there was no harm to any students or individuals. 

Was it scary? Yes. At the time it was a real threat. And it rattled me. For me, the scariest part was that I was with students. I think it would not has shook me as much had I just been alone in my office. 

Even as I look back at my tweets and FB updates, I can see that some may think of these as over reactive. You see, I was in a dark, small closet with 25+ students. We were relying, thankfully, on social media updates. Social media was also a way for me to update friends, family and coworkers of the whereabouts of myself and, more importantly, my students. 

Is there a ton to learn from this? Yes. First, I must say, we did so many things right. I felt safe and secure almost immediately. We have active shooter drills on campus. We have behavioral intervention teams of counselors who work with our students. We try as best as we can to prepare, but when you have thousands of students on campus in all classrooms, you learn a bit more. 

For instance, I put my phone on 'Do not Disturb' when I go into a classroom. I had my phone right in front of me, but did not get the alert because of the setting. The classroom phone did not go off until many minutes later. I did not know to go on lockdown until an officer came in my classroom (which was very quickly). Many students in common areas were not made aware as quickly as we would like. That classroom definitely needs blinds. And maybe I'll risk the buzz of a text or call interrupting my lecture or a speech to get a Red Alert text. 

Although we can learn from this, I can not say enough about our Safety and Security team and leadership at my campus. They took the threat seriously with the information that was given and acted swiftly. Obviously, there are some threats that don't get acted on. Many campuses chose not to lock down today.  I feel much safer knowing the steps our team took to ensure the safety of our students and staff. 

Was it an overreaction? No. I think when there is a localized threat, it is better to lose an hour of class time than to jeopardize the safety of all the people we, as a college, are responsible for, who include not only out adult students, but also our high school students and daycare students. 

So THANK YOU to everyone at my college who made this girl feel a bit more safe.  

**All opinions expressed are my own and not necessarially that of my employer or any other institution. 

Why I Love My Job

The first week of classes is crazy. Like, beyond challenging. It can sometimes lead you to believe you are the crazy one and you can even have moments of weakness where you question why you chose this profession. We are all lucky to survive it. 

And then you get affirmation. 

Tonight, I stupidly checked my email. And there, in my inbox, is an email from a student sent at 9:15p on a Friday night. 

This causes heart palpitations. Thoughts race through my head about what the crisis could be, knowing I likely can't begin to trouble-shoot it until Monday. 

That is the thing about higher ed, or any job in general, you constantly fear the worst. 

I immediately think what did I do wrong. Not even what did I do wrong, but what could I have done better? How could I have better served the student? How could I have better communicated so the student didn't have a question or an issue at 9 pm on a Friday night. A million thoughts race within a millisecond. 

I open the email and it is from a student in the class that I teach.  The student would like me to review his speech (and I encourage my students to do this) five whole days before it is due. 

And it is perfect.