My Last Editor's Note for Main Street magazine

I recently heard a UNH professor say something that really struck me:

“Being a student is easy; being a student who is also a citizen is a challenge worth striving for.”

I found this to be profoundly true.

Throughout my time here at UNH I have learned many things, from my professors, my peers, and my friends. What will stay with me are the life lessons, the acts that were universal. It is almost effortless to get caught up in college culture, but what is more difficult is to think about the world beyond the bubble.

Having enough perspective to see what is important to you, what you’re passionate about, why you’re even taking the classes you’re enrolled in – that’s what is key.

The individual student might not think that they have an impact on this university of more than 14,000, but that is altogether untrue. You do have a purpose here; you do have an influence, at whatever level that might be. To the kid in your class, your freshman roommate, your professor, your neighbor, a friend – the effect people have on one another can be profound.

I’m constantly amazed at the amount of students engaged in their education, taking their role in our community seriously. I thank you all for making this university a better place.

So whatever you came here for, a bachelors in liberal arts or a good time, I lean toward the belief that a college education is just too damn expensive to waste. Participate in it, engage, go out, get wild, do it all.

I anticipate only the best for the class of 2012, and all graduates in the future who continue to pursue their role as student citizens.