0gden Scholar Award

As many of you know, Sharon and I graduated on December 13. I thought I would try to summarize all the goings-on of the past month for blogging purposes and for those of you who are interested. I will do this in multiple postings.

Graduation… wow! What an ordeal that was! What made it extraordinarily frantic was because somehow I landed the 0gden Scholar Award. So here is how that happened (the following is an email sent to my family on 11/18/08):

As some of you may know, I was approached by the registrar last spring and was asked to defer my graduation until December. As an August graduate, you get to pick whether you want to walk in May or walk in December. If I waited until December, J.B., the registrar, told me, I would definitely be the Scholar of my College, an honor that goes to the student with the highest GPA in his or her respective college. The catch is that you have to be totally finished, including internships, and that precluded me from getting the honor at the May ceremony. In addition, J.B. told me, if I deferred until December, I would "be invited to apply" for the 0gden Scholar award. This award is open to all the Scholars of the Colleges, of which there are approximately 9-12(ish). Of that pool, they select three applicants, whom they will interview before making a final decision.

I know a lot more about this now than I did then. When I was first contacted by J.B., I kept asking her, "now what is this for again?" and "now who qualifies for this?" Well, because it worked out better for Alvins and Sara to come to only one graduation (rather than one in May and another in December), and with the enticement of the possibility of a $1000 award attached to the 0gden Scholar, I chose to defer my graduation to December. In the meantime, I would finish up my internship and head into my first semester of graduate school in the fall.

The day before we left for Europe would have been my original graduation date. I went ahead and attended the ceremony and watched sadly as all my Real Friends graduated without me.

And I beheld the duties required of the 0gden Scholar. And I was upset.

The 0gden Scholar, as it turns out, leads the faculty up onto the stage doing nothing less than carrying the Western flag (I've only touched a flag once or so… at VBS when I was…like, three). And he sits with the faculty… facing the crowd. And HE SPOKE FOR EXACTLY A VERY LONG TIME. Does this sound like something I am interested in? That would be a negative.

So fast forward to October. This has been as stressful of a semester as any to date. I can barely eek my stuff in on time. And then J.B. calls me again and informs me that yes, I am, in fact, the Scholar of the College and that as such I am invited to apply for the 0gden Scholar award. I was less than enthusiastic, and so I finally asked her, "the 0gden Scholar speaks at commencement, doesn't he?" Why yes, as a matter of fact, that's right… and that is a very good thing to know, she said, and she is glad that I mentioned it.

Well, YESS! That would be that would be something to consider, wouldn't it?

I told her I would think about it, but that speaking at commencement would likely keep me from applying. I hung up and no less than two minutes later, J.B. called me back and said that she is sure that if I were really opposed to it, that I could decline to speak and still get the award. "No one would have to know," she said.

Well, as it turns out, Sharon and her friend Ryan tied for being Scholars of their college as well, and they are also invited to apply. But they didn't, because, Sharon says… regarding the required essay, "I couldn't possibly."

Whatever!

So I considered it… and I made some contacts to see if I could find some people to write letters of recommendation on my behalf…just in case. And they gladly consented (my preceptor from my internship and one of my professors).

And with everything else that I've had going on… I barely eeked out my application and essay by the deadline. I decided that since I was having letters submitted on my behalf, I had better go ahead and apply.

So I get a phone call a week ago, and dear J.B. is sooo happy to tell me that I have made it to the final three.

And a knife twists in the pit of my stomach even as we made arrangements for The Interview.

And The Interview was TONIGHT [11/18/08]. At 6:00.

And next to almost missing the train to Treviso (nothing will ever top that), that interview has to be the WORST experience in my short-term memory. It was sooooo horrrrrible.

J.B. herself ushered me into the room, but before I entered, she made sure to tell me that all the colleges are represented and that "F.C." is the representative of the 0gden Foundation. I had the feeling she was giving me a Hint, but I didn't know what to do with it.

And I walked into that room and nearly fainted. It was a sea of stern faces that stared back at me (anyone remember the Dorrie books with the pictures of the long tables with all the figures dressed in black?).

All I could think was "I have changed my mind."

I walked around and shook hands with everyone as if I were at an Amish church service. And they were kind enough to point out that I would get the "hot seat." So I sat at a table all by myself facing the mob. Each person was able to ask one question, and they started with Dr. Trafton (former professor of Jolene's). I knew I was in trouble when he came out with "Describe your civic engagement experiences and what civic engagement means to you personally."

Talk about a deer in the headlights.

The questions were simply awful (variations of the following—I can't possibly remember the actual questions):

1. "In your time here at Western, what was your greatest obstacle, and how did you overcome it?" [The one answer I remember: " Being all things to all people." How did I overcome it? "By defining my limitations and letting other people know what they are." (translation: just say no)].

2. How have your experiences prepared you for global engagement?

3. What one research project have you done that you found the most interesting?

4. What do you see yourself doing in four to six years?

5. If you could do one thing over in your time here at Western, what would it be?

Awkward, awkward, awkward. It was literally a series of impromptu speeches through which I just muddled my way. Anyone who knows me well knows that I do not think well on the fly. I don't remember how I answered which question, but somehow, I talked about Mr. Wilson (from the Tech School), about Menno-culture, about my work with SEMMA (they were very intrigued by that), about my dad, and various other and sundry things. And by the end, I was "Kris—Master of the Beady-Eyed Look." And when my time was up, I fled the scene. It is very cold around here right now, and I found myself shivering with teeth chattering---but I knew it wasn't from the cold. I literally felt white.

I called Sharon on the way home and loudly lamented how terrible that experience was. And when I got home, I paced the hall. And I cleared my desk of all unnecessary things. And I attempted to eat some Ramen Noodles, but the only thing that could make me feel better was ice cream, and so my noodles ended up in the Puppy Bowl.

You would think the story would end there… but no.

At 8:02 p.m., the telephone rang. The caller ID said "C., F." J.B. had originally told me I wouldn't know anything until the first of December, and so I assumed they must have forgotten to ask me the Final Question. So I picked it up and identified myself. And F.C. himself was happy to inform me that I AM THE WINNER. And he was also happy to inform me that I would get to carry the Western flag and would "get to" make some comments at commencement.

Well, blow me over with a feather!!! I didn't have the heart to tell him I object.

Anyone know how to carry a flag?