Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end

Two months to the day I began unemployment, I received a call. It was over.
The next chapter takes place in Frankfort at Kentucky State University.
A portion of my campus interview couldn't have gone better if it were scripted. While taking a campus tour, I spotted a former St. Catharine student. We embraced and shared a quick moment. It was magical. Truly.
I'm joining a very talented communications team. I can't wait to learn from my new teammates. They're extremely intelligent and very welcoming.
The support I've received in the last two months has been incredible. It's been a lesson in how to raise others up, for sure. So many people have said or done or thought so many things that it would take an incredibly large spreadsheet to track it.
Someone who has seen me at my worst - and perhaps best - during this time has been my wife. Just when I think I can stop writing the list of reasons why she's incredible, she produces 17 new bullet points. It's utterly amazing. Thank you, Coury, for enduring with me (all while maintaining a perfect GPA and producing work that caused your education law professor to proclaim that you'd make a good lawyer). I am in awe of you.
To my St. Catharine College family, I miss you. There is so much more that could be said, but I miss you is the most succinct.
I'm thankful for the opportunity. Time to go to work.

We didn’t know what we didn’t know

Seven years ago today, we didn’t know what we didn’t know.

We didn’t know we’d actually have three children, especially after doing the math one night on your deck and realizing – oh God – we’d have to have them two years apart or less.

We didn’t know we’d get a little girl with curly hair or two little boys that look just like me.

We didn’t know that the girl would be all you – hair, personality, sense of humor.

We didn’t know about the lost sleep, the sacrifices, or the complexities of leaving the house.

We didn’t know we’d find the beautiful place we found to call home.

We didn’t know about the fire, or the renovation, or the despair.

We didn’t know that the happiness we felt was nothing compared to what we feel now.

Today, we know all those things.

Thank you all the happiness over the last seven years.

Thank you for waiting for me as I figured out where I wanted to live and what I wanted to do.

Thank you for being an optimist, for being happy, for making me laugh.

Thank you for setting such an example for our whole family – for going back to school, for being an incredible person, for having so much patience.

Thank you for seeing the best in me and talking me off the ledge when I see the worst.

Thank you for always showing your hand, never hiding your love.

Thank you for those three little people that keep following us around, demanding food and attention.

I love you. Happy anniversary. 

Living #SCCPride

As you might have heard in the last week or so, my employer filed suit against the U.S. Department of Education. For more on that, click here.
Simply put, St. Catharine College is fighting for financial aid for its students. It's a complicated and nuanced issue that is affecting the students at the college. I could dive in and try to explain, but that's not why I'm here (click here for a good explanation from President Gnadinger). I'm here to tell you why St. Catharine College has become like home to me.
This story begins a little over three years ago. I decided to leave a field I absolutely love (journalism) for public relations at St. Catharine College. The decision was difficult. I considered my co-workers as family and it's never easy leaving family. However, my family at home was burgeoning. My wife and I had a young daughter and a baby boy on the way. Time away from these three was harder and harder to accept. With hesitation, we decided that I'd leave the newspaper and begin work at St. Catharine College.
It didn't take long to love St. Catharine. I knew several people that worked here and my in-laws met here. It was very clear from day one that everyone employed at St. Catharine had the best interest of the students in mind. We are a small college, which gives us the opportunity to go out of our way to help students.
About nine months after I began work at St. Catharine, our home was ravaged by fire. I still very clearly remember my hands shaking as I tried to lock my office door after I received the call about the fire (for the full account, click here). That evening, while my family and I stood outside our home and wondered what was next, someone from St. Catharine came by with clothes. Our clothes, except what we were wearing, were ruined by the smoke. Then, not long after I returned to work, a gift was presented to my family from the employees of St. Catharine. Around the same time, the Dominican Sisters of Peace (who sponsor the college) presented a gift, as well. I was still very much the new guy on campus. The support was overwhelming and it has shaped my philosophy on helping people.
Over time, I started to make close friends on campus. People I would have lunch with, solve problems with and share stories from our lives with. Work was hard, but fun. I knew, and we all knew, that we had a friend on campus when we needed it.
In November, one of our co-workers needed a friend. Her daughter was born with a rare heart defect. The situation she and her family endured is any parent's worst nightmare (for a full account, click here). As this horrific scenario was unfolding, I learned all that I needed to know about the people at St. Catharine College. As my co-worker said so well, the people of St. Catharine (and everyone that prayed for the family) stormed heaven for this baby girl. It's hard to articulate the feeling on campus during that time and after our fire, but I've felt it and I know the love, generosity and compassion of these people now. If I had to endure a tragedy, I would want these people in my corner every time.
This place and these people are intertwined with my life. They care about each other and, most importantly, about the students of St. Catharine College. Please join us in support as we fight for the financial aid of our students. Listed below are many ways you can help. Please share our story and encourage others to help, as well.

• To join us for #SCCPride Day, a community event    
• To sign a petition in support of St. Catharine College
• To give a gift, no matter how small, to the #SCCpride GoFundMe campaign (started by a student to raise money for student scholarships)
• To follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and to share your own positive story about St. Catharine College using the hashtags #SCCpride and #PreachTheTruth