Semester Ready

Friday the SPH building will be full with new students, faculty and some current students. All attending the orientation. The orientation blends ritual with a tiny element of infomercial and blind dating. This year our division has so many incoming students that we no longer fit in the larger of the classrooms; the gathering of new students and faculty will, instead, be in the auditorium. Far less personal than preferred, but we also won't complain about having so many students. The numbers are a testimony to the current popularity of public health.

As I have more and more academic cycles behind me, the newness of the year is hard to generate. What is new for these incoming students is what we faculty have been working to improve for years. What is unknown to these students, we see as the beginning of a recognizable pattern.

One big thing remains impossible to predict as the students introduce themselves--who will whiz through without difficulty or challenging situations and who will falter, linger and fade unfinished. Naturally, we hope that we have admitted only students fitting into the first category. But, as I review and add to my advisee list, a few names have been there too long. These students, yeas ago at orientation, were also filled with expectations and hope for a public health career.

Hope, enthusiastic expectations, energetic commitment and excitement.... may the entire academic year be infused with these delightful qualities that fill the day of orientation.