Thanks, Wheaton Family

I always love flipping through my alum magazine when it arrives. Wheaton College was where I transformed from a struggling to thriving student, and I'm reminded especially now -- while I read up on college searches and data showing that faculty relationships are a key determinant in student enrichment and satisfaction -- of how incredibly special this community is. Like, it's not an overstatement to say that faculty and staff at Wheaton SAVED MY LIFE.

Because I'm a former academic + a current content creator, I always love checking out the Publications, Honors and Creative Works page. Every issue I scan through the listings + send up a quiet celebratory fist bump to the Wheaton faculty who somehow manage to conduct research, analyze data, do literature reviews, draft papers, and see that work through to publication while juggling a full teaching schedule. Wheaton is a teaching college and there is no graduate program so classes are taught by actual professors, not grad student TAs. Knowing what I know about research university academia, seriously, RESPECT.

Anyway, so after issuing my celebratory faculty fist bumps, I moved on to the next column and saw that I was listed in the Alumni section for my two first major media bylines of the year. I did not think to send this information in, and I am incredibly touched -- yet also not totally surprised -- that someone else did. This is just what the Wheaton family does. Thanks, Wheaton family.