Welcome to the new Curry Blog. Our goal here is to give you a little bit of insight into the goings on here in a casual, personal way. We know. There already are press releases, articles, magazines, newsletters and a website full of information about Curry.
But here, we want you to know us: those of us writing those stories, how we stumble across the compelling stories of our alumni, those of us teaching and researching. You’ll find a variety of voices here, a picture of this complex place.
I’m one of those voices. So, I suppose I ought to introduce myself.
I think my first crush on U.Va. happened in 1993…yes, I mean a crush on the University. My brother was the first one in my family to go to college and he arrived on Grounds as a first year in the fall of 1993. I was starting my senior in high school and, shockingly, my brother and I were (and still are) pretty close buddies. So he generously shared his college experience with me, welcoming me on Grounds to visit whenever I could. U.Va. is a breathtaking place and seemed like a dreamland to a 17 year old.
Then, just when I thought things couldn’t get better, my brother joined an a cappella group. It was at that point, I know, that my crush turned into a long term love.
Sure enough, nearly twenty years later (twenty! ouch!), I still adore this place. My husband is an alumnus and our two-year old is beginning his U.Va. career very early at the U.Va. child development center. We are a bone fide U.Va. family!
It should then come as no surprise that I count it a great privilege to work at this great institution. And not just at U.Va., but at the Curry School of Education.
It was an accidental turn of events that brought out my passion for education. After graduate school, I returned to my alma mater, Furman University in SC, to be a part of an institute that was created by fellow Furman alumnus and former U.S. Secretary of Education, Richard Riley. Secretary Riley’s passion for improving education for all children in the United States was contagious and spurred in me a commitment to work toward that goal.
At Curry, we are all working to improve the lives of students of every age, through teaching and learning, physical therapy or speech therapy, through counseling and mentoring. It so exciting to work at a place where research and scholarship turns into tangible improvements in so many lives.
I look forward to sharing these stories with you.
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