I just wanted to take a moment and thank all of the students I have had the pleasure of working for and with for their collective contributions to Kenyon during our shared time together. It was no secret that my favorite part of my job at Kenyon was working with the students, so thank you to the community for letting me be a part of the journey.
Whether through our shared work in Social Board, Greek life, Leadership programs or just Student Engagement (OSE) in general, the students at Kenyon were a major part of helping OSE reset the narrative at Kenyon moving forward. I think it is important to say that a (hopefully) great department like OSE requires great students as much as it requires great planning and direction.
I also want to let the student community know a few other items as well…
Work is important, but isn’t necessarily everything. If you find it difficult to navigate work-life balance, that doesn’t mean you won’t succeed in your career path. It’s okay and normal to find some things easier than others. Part of your life lessons will be to figure out and play to your strengths.
There will also be setbacks. There will be disagreement, there will be conflict, and it will be tiring to continue on the path. Someone else may take credit for your ideas. You might be given a boring work project, while a colleague gets to work on something you love.
If any of these things happen to you, please remember that you’re not alone. These things happen to everyone. They are not a reflection of who you are or who you will be; it’s a reflection of circumstances, most of which are out of your control. And if you have a setback, don’t give up. You will always have people in your corner, silently cheering you on, even if it’s long past your time at Kenyon.
Success looks different to different people, and your success will look different from others. That’s okay. Every single person has different strengths and different challenges. And that’s also okay.
You are valuable.
You matter.
Sincerely,
Caleb Young
Director of Student Engagement