Dear friends of Schreiner University,

The lore of higher education suggests that April is the month to expect crazy events. There is some truth to that adage, because somehow it seems harder to keep the top on as the end of a long academic year approaches. Happily (knock! knock!), we seem pretty much on task here at Schreiner, so don’t expect a column about the latest crazy incidents.

No, what has been on my mind lately is another, far more appealing phenomenon of the end of the year—senior student presentations and recitals. Those soon to graduate are completing a variety of capstone activities. Some are finishing theses on a variety of topics, such as Nick Landes on mathematical physics and April Morris on children’s literature worldwide.

Others make presentations on their internship experience. Last week, I had the pleasure of hearing reports on internships spent in a physical therapy clinic, a physician’s office, and a pharmacy. Brian Lake, for instance, admitted that although his father is a pharmacy manager, he had not realized the complexity of the pharmacist’s work until this semester. And next fall, he will be in pharmacy school himself at Texas Tech! Hearing from our student teachers and their classroom mentors offers further evidence of the critical importance of field experience.

Music majors provide a senior recital as part of taking their degrees. Three of our Schreiner seniors, Emily Darnell, Sally Middleton and Dorothy Borrayo, gave their senior recitals recently. The room was filled each time not only with beautiful music, but also with the collective memory of the melodic pleasure they have provided us with during their undergraduate years.

Further evidence of student accomplishment comes in April as student awards are given out for academic success and contributions to campus life and the community. April may bring some craziness, but it is, perhaps, the very best time for a host of individual reminders of just how much students have accomplished here at Schreiner and how much they have learned by asking the most of themselves. Who wouldn’t enjoy those kinds of reminders?

Tim Summerlin, President