The Yankee Begins Another Academic Year

I moved down here a little over three years ago, and it still surprises me to see Virginia plates on my car. This August marks the beginning of the fourth academic year since I started the job, my second as a student. After the years it took to get out of the mindset of an academic year, it did not take me long to get back into the rhythm of it.

We spent the last month preparing for them, and yesterday the dorms officially opened for the students. Most of the arrivals are new students, as are those who have been moving into the off-campus apartments for the past 10 days. A small group of us helped move folks into their dorm rooms as they arrived. I logged 30 flights of stairs by 2:00 p.m. The new students should all be here by Thursday, when the August term officially begins, and the returning students will trickle in between now and Labor Day Weekend. The residential section of campus is no longer deathly quiet.

Each class develops its own personality, so we will watch to see how the class of 2018 shapes up over the coming year.

As the number of students increases, campus services and activities begin to ramp up. Food service began with lunch today. We'll have lunch only until Wednesday, when they start serving dinner, and full meal service begins on Thursday. Cooking for one often seems like a waste of energy, when for the same amount of time and effort I can prepare a meal for four or more, so it's nice to have the Refectory open again. August term classes begin on Friday, which means we'll be seeing a lot of Greek and Hebrew flashcards. And so the new folks from have something besides studying to do, orientation meetings and activities are scheduled throughout the coming weeks.

As with every new year, a lot of familiar faces will not be returning. This year it will be particularly noticeable for me. The class of 2015 was the class that started the same year I did. The were the first class I saw all the way through their three year Seminary career. Now they are scattered throughout the church exercising their ministries. I miss them, and I hope they are all doing well. The only other class I will probably have as close an affinity with will be the one that I will finish my MA with, if all goes according to plan. And they won't arrive until NEXT August!

And so begins another year.