Sometimes an award is really a reminder of who helped you become.

This weekend, I had the honor of returning to my alma mater, Concordia University St. Paul, and receiving the Alumni Association Educator of the Year Award.

I didn’t campaign for this one. I was nominated and selected. And that made the moment especially meaningful.

Standing there, I thought about the people who poured into me, challenged me, encouraged me, and helped me grow in the soil where I was planted.

That’s the thing about recognition: it may have your name on it, but it rarely belongs to you alone.

I was also able to return to the football field, participate in the homecoming coin toss, and share the experience with my son. After more than 20 years, watching a game at the place where I once played felt like one of those full-circle moments you don’t plan for.

And now, I get to carry that gratitude forward.

Tonight, I’ll be back at Lore Leimert Park with Yetunde Daniels Rubinstein and Timothy Fields for a conversation about the continuum of care—the conversations families need to have as students move through K–12, toward college, and into the very different world that begins once they arrive on campus.

Not a panel of experts telling families what to do.

A conversation about the real challenges families face—and how we can work through them together.

Because maybe that’s what this season of life is really about: remembering who helped us along the way, and becoming that person for someone else.

🎧 Listen to today’s episode of On The Way To School wherever you get your podcasts.

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