Thank you for everything.

These are my not-so-final thoughts on our last two weeks together.
Some silly little suggestions:

• Name tents for the presenters. It would have been less distracting if I didn't have to rustle through my syllabus every time I forgot a presenter's name.
• More "Cronkite School" stuff for purchase - the more the name is in my room, the more I will be able to talk about it. (I bought an ASU pennant to go over my desk)
• If it is possible to have laundry services available through Taylor place, that would be way cheaper than the hotel, and way more convenient than the closest laundromat.
• A contact sheet so we can all have each other's phone numbers at the very beginning - for just in case situations (like poor Lisa).
• I know this was a hectic situation this year for Anita, but I would have loved to have gotten to know her better.

This was the most valuable education! I NEEDED this. I love teaching journalism, but I was really doubting my ability to pull it off this coming year, until this institute. I now feel like, not only can I pull it off, I am going to ROCK IT! Thank you so much for that. There is so much to be said for confidence in teaching, and now I have that.

Anita, Thank you for everything you did for us. I felt like I could come to you for anything. You really added special touches to this experience that I will remember forever. Your photobomb at the game is still my favorite photo from the whole Institute! I can't wait to send kids to the SJI program, and to the Cronkite School in general! I am going to miss your smile.

Fellow fellows - Man! That was a blast! I am so glad I was able to laugh with you, struggle with you, learn with you, and during Gregory's speech, cry with you - as I am now while writing this. Even though we had all of those amazing speakers and leaders, being there with you really made it special. Although some of us will stay in touch for many years to come, I know that lives get busy and connections get lost. If that day comes, please know that each and every one of you has had an impact on me and made me a better teacher, and a better person. I will always look back on this experience with a smile and an aching heart. I will treasure your friendships always.

Alan, I am going to steal one of Steve's words, Sensei. I think we all feel that way. Thank you for being so willing to share all of your trade secrets. I know teachers help each other out, but very few are willing to sell the store to help out a newb. I will be in contact, I know I will. And I know you will respond, and that is a great feeling. At the beginning of the institute, I blogged about wanting four things: dirty hands, community, a better-educated echo, and to be a student again. You satisfied #2, #3 and #4. Thank you for making me feel connected to the journalism community. I now feel like I have a lifeline to save me when I am in the trenches. Thank you for being my better-educated echo. I loved bouncing my ideas off of you. And thank you for helping me embrace my inner-student by constantly teaching me your tricks of the trade.

Steve: As teachers, we all understand what it is like to have to get through 30+ papers in one evening, thank you for giving us the time and attention, on an individual basis, that we needed to become better writers and better educators. And boy is that just a tiny fraction of what I am thankful for.

Your diligence to keep things on time was inspirational. Somewhere, in some terribly boring faculty meeting, a teacher gave out some crazy math (sorry Cherita) about how wasting one minute of every class added up to several days of lost teaching in one year. Never once did I feel like my time was being wasted.

You provided us with an inspirational model. So many times we were leaving class talking about how great your pedagogy was. You joke about it, but you have got it NAILED. There were times, during longer-winded segments, I thought to myself, "If Steve were teaching this, we would have had at least three 2-minute drills by now!"

Blog posts are only supposed to be around 500 words or so -- see I did my homework -- so I don't want to go on forever, I already have, so I will end with this: I have 180+ students that spend at least a semester in my class every year. If I do the math right (sorry again Cherita if I am wrong) 180ish students times 35 teachers...that is around 6,300 students that you affect every year through your inspiration and devotion to the teachers in this program. You have been doing this for eight years now -- more math -- 50,400 students impacted by your generosity. It would take me 280 years to have the opportunity to see that many students, and something tells me I won't make it that long. So, thank you. Thank you from me, my students, and every student who has and will have the opportunity to be better at their craft as a direct result of what you do at the Reynolds Institute every year.
Kristen Morey
Fremont High School
Ogden, Utah