I have had the pleasure of being a columnist for the Westminster College student newspaper, The Holcad. Each of these columns appears on page 3 of the paper, hence the name of this page… In my effort to keep a record of my time as a student as I approach my 50’s, I started this blog. As time seemed to be at a premium during my first semester, my goal to write a new blog on a regular basis did not exactly pan out but there were these columns which were directly influenced by events at school. I’ve linked to a pdf version of page 3 of each of the issues I have a column in as well as an external link to the full pdf which is hosted on the Westminster College servers.
Fall Semester 2017
- Being Imperfect in the Quest for Perfection from the 9-15-2017 issue of The Holcad
- A few weeks into the term, and it happened. Out of the blue, that nagging feeling of frustration started creeping in. It was 7:30 am on what I believe was a Wednesday (I can never be sure that early in the day, so I rely heavily on my planner for this information). We were having our group trumpet warmup session and, with each exercise meant to help us relax, I could feel my neck and shoulders getting more tense… Continue Reading
- Staying Humble and Kind from the 10-13-2017 issue of The Holcad
- For our readers who don’t know me, I am a 49-year-old undergraduate majoring in Music Education here at Westminster. The reason for that statement will become clear shortly. The lyrics to the Tim McGraw song “Humble and Kind” (written by Lori McKenna and published by Universal Music Publishing Group) have been running through my mind a lot recently.
“Hold the door say please say thank you
Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie
I know you got mountains to climb but
Always stay humble and kind” … Continue Reading
- For our readers who don’t know me, I am a 49-year-old undergraduate majoring in Music Education here at Westminster. The reason for that statement will become clear shortly. The lyrics to the Tim McGraw song “Humble and Kind” (written by Lori McKenna and published by Universal Music Publishing Group) have been running through my mind a lot recently.
- Paying Attention to the Details from the 11-3-2017 issue of The Holcad
- When did paying attention to the details become passé? The more we seem to know or can find out quickly, the less likely we are to place importance on the details. Our phones, tablets and computers are increasingly getting better at correcting our spelling and grammar and are even doing much of the work for us when we use talk-to-text. Are we losing the ability to do these things for ourselves?… Continue Reading
- Balancing Support for Student and Community Events from the 11-17-2017 issue of The Holcad
- So far this fall, the Westminster Celebrity Series has brought The Four Phantoms, The President’s Own Marine Band and Chris Botti to Orr Auditorium. I attended two of those events in what was close to a full house. Prior to attending Westminster, I made it a point to see many of the School of Music’s student and faculty performances and have been disheartened at the lack of attendance at many of these performances. There are some talented individuals and groups at this school, and there is no reason performances should be given to less than a full house… Continue reading
- Adjust the Path You Are On to Get to Where You Want to Be from the 12-08-2017 issue of The Holcad
- And just like that, here we are. For better or worse, today is the final day of classes for Fall 2017. For some, this is time to celebrate, and for others, it may be time to panic. Once finals are done, we’ll be saying goodbye to our Westminster family for a few weeks, and it will be off to home for most of us. Whatever your traditions are, I hope you have a wonderful winter break. As I start to write this, I’m looking back over the past couple of weeks trying to find the inspiration for what to use to fill this space. Those who know me will know that there was at least one occasion recently that would fill this space and beyond. But, I’m not going to use that. When I was your age… Yes, I said it. I promised myself I would try to refrain from that since age shouldn’t matter, but it is relevant here… Continue reading