Indiana Bound

No I'm not going to the Final Four this weekend (I wish I had courtside seats to see the most unlikely Final Four participant ever). I will, however, be moving to Indiana at the end of the summer to attend grad school at Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

For those of you who didn't even know I was looking into grad school, I will be pursuing my Master's in Public Affairs focusing in non-profit management. Much like St. Louis, I have never been to Bloomington, but this is one of the premier programs in the nation for people seeking to go into non-profit management. Since it is my dream to open up and run my own non-profit agency, I feel this is an excellent opportunity to get the education background that I'll need to succeed. Indiana will also provide many doors for the future through the people I meet and the organizations they are partnered. Between my experience with AmeriCorps St. Louis and earning my Master's Degree, I know I will be well-prepared for life in a non-profit.

While I still have a lot of questions that will be answered in the coming months, right now I'm focused on finishing out my term with AmeriCorps before re-focusing on my return to academia. I know for some people it's hard to imagine moving to somewhere you've never even been, but for me it's just another learning experience. Much like AmeriCorps, I'll be starting with another group of like-minded individuals at a large university, so I'm not too worried about the adjustment.

I've also learned there's no sense in worrying about your finances. They take care of themselves, and honestly, I would rather leave a legacy of giving behind than a lump of money so if I live the rest of my life just getting by, I won't see that as a problem. Believe me, you can live comfortably making it paycheck to paycheck, and if that's the sacrafice I have to make in order to start a non-profit, that's just what I'll do.

So those are my thoughts on what the near future looks like. I'm extremely excited about this new adventure and will keep everyone up-to-date on my doings. Who knows, maybe I'll spend some time overseas after grad school working for an international non-profit?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

As most of you know, March Madness is my favorite time of the year. The excitement of the postseason college basketball (or high school) gives me goosebumps and really is the perfect way to start the Spring. I get an extra hop in my step just at the thought of conference tournaments and of course the Big Dance.

Like last year, I got tickets for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. For $80 I sat in the second row for 7 do-or-die games. While the quality of basketball wasn't always the greatest, the energy of the players knowing that they were playing to either pad their tournament resume or their only chance at dancing.

Instead of spending paragraphs explaining the highlights of the tournament (or March Madness in general), I'm going to just list my reasons for loving this time of year.

- playing for a chance to be forever remembered
- seniors lifting up their game to extend their college career for one more game
- the emotional senior knowing the end of the line is at hand
- the hometown bench-warmer scoring in garbage minutes followed by the student section erupting
- college fight songs and the motions that go with them
- the star player making everyone else better
- the unknown role player making a name for himself
- a coach becoming the "new" hot commodity
- a coach who understands it's about the players
- referees acknowledging their mistakes and letting the teams play
- the jubilation of a game changing play
- momentum swings
- a big three
- monster dunks
- no look passes
- stealing the ball and taking it coast-to-coast
- timeouts to keep the fans in suspense
- hard fouls that are only committed because of the gravity of the situation
- all tournament teams
- players playing because the love the game
- fans making a difference
- cutting down the nets
- players having to be picked off the ground after a devestating loss
- players having to be picked off the ground after a shocking win
- 12 seeds beating 5 seeds
- the underdogs in the Sweet 16
- an improbable Final Four run
- knowing your team is still alive
- Gonzaga, Valparaiso, Richmond, etc.
- Bill Raftery
- Thursday and Friday afternoon games
- 1 month of basketball to make me last another 11 months

It's the most wonderful time of the year.