Whew!

Another sunset on a beautiful Senior Project Board Night. We reached the scariest part of the Project process and our students did the usual last minute shuffle to gather everything they needed to make sure every board member was duly impressed—they were.

The Senior Project Support Committee buzzed around making sure Board Night was well-run and that every issue was addressed—it was. We received the best bunch of evaluations we have ever gotten from our group of evaluators. It’s like we’ve finally arrived. After years of tweaking everything from the food to the manual to the score sheet, we can finally settle down and focus on maintaining a good product.

It wasn’t always that way. (Imagine the Austin Powers’ timewarp music . . .) Dododo, dododo, dododo . . . “There’s Kelli again. Man, she looks stressed. How can she do everything by herself? I wish she would ask us for help.” “OK, what’s next? I’ve chosen (and called ) every mentor for each individual student, I’ve written and copied the forms for the kids and the evaluators, I’ve purchased the folders to put the forms in, I’ve arranged for the food (which I will pick up), I’ve arranged for the ‘I Survived Senior Project’ buttons (which I will pick up), I’ve created and maintained the database of evaluators, I’ve printed the invitations, I’ve stuffed the envelopes, I’ve purchased the stamps, I’ve received and marked all the responses, I’ve called to remind those who are attending, I’ve cooked the vegetarian meals, and I’ve sharpened the pencils. Is there anything else that needs to be done? Oh, yeah, I also graded two classes of research papers three times each and helped each of my own students through the process. Yep. I’m a little tired, but who will do this if I don’t?” she complains to herself with a martyristic tone.

(Again, imagine the Austin Powers’ timewarp music . . .) Dododo, dododo, dododo . . . Looking back, I can’t believe I did everything myself when there was no need. All I needed to do was ask for help. I now have an awesome committee who takes care of everything to the point where I probably do the least amount of legwork. The delegation of duties has made our project one that our board members appreciate and admire. In addition, it has involved lots of faculty members so the project moved from something I was responsible for into something the school is responsible for. Everyone is now invested in the process and I am exhausted for other reasons (Alex, 10 mos. & Anna-Kate, 4 yrs.). Hindsight really is 20/10.