Greetings from Winchester! You may remember how February can be here in Winchester – alternately wintry with periods of spring and (gasp!) some seventy-degree days! Shorts and tee shirts briefly appeared followed by coats and snowflakes. I don’t know about you, but I am ready for spring to arrive!
Our Shenandoah students and faculty have begun the spring semester. There are papers to write, projects to submit, lesson plans to write, practicing, performances to give and attend, conferences, and lectures, and games to attend. Students are pulled in many directions as they go through semester. For many, this is the last semester they will spend as a student at Shenandoah. They are marking the time until graduation. What they may not realize until they are older is that their time at SU encompasses some of the most special times in their lives. The friendships they make and the connections they form will be lifelong. Do you recall your final semester at Shenandoah? We were impatient to graduate and head out into the world. However, once graduation arrived and we realized that our time as students had come to an end, it was bittersweet.
The campus landscape will soon be transformed as we move through the last days of winter and into spring. If you haven’t been to campus lately, be sure to check out the SU website for pictures. You’ll see many familiar landmarks and marvel at the new buildings. Although I graduated many years ago, when I drive onto campus, it still feels like the Shenandoah I knew and loved. As Tracy Fitzsimmons often says, the campus has changed but the heartbeat of Shenandoah is the same.
I hope in your travels you meander our way and stop by for a visit! We’d love to see you and show you around.
Enjoy the last weeks of winter as we move forward to the promise of spring!
Susan Wyatt Helsley ’76, ’85
President, SU Alumni Association