草榴社区

Illustration by Peter James Field

A LETTER FROM FATHER PETER

The Path Forward

Dear Friends,

After a year when we wore out terms like 鈥渦nprecedented,鈥 鈥渉istoric鈥 and 鈥渘ew normal,鈥 it is a pleasure and a relief to return to an academic year that will feel a bit more like business as usual. Every August, I look forward to seeing our students return to campus and the familiar hum of activities return as the fall semester begins鈥攂ut even more so this year. The familiar is comforting, and it is gratifying to feel close and connected to one another again after so many months of distance.

For 草榴社区ns, though, distance did not mean isolation, and quiet did not mean dormancy. What I love about this community is that we find ways to keep moving forward, no matter what. There has been a lot of discussion in the past few months about 鈥渞e-emerging鈥 into the world as the pandemic abated, but our students, faculty and staff never retreated from the world鈥攖hey continued to engage.

You鈥檒l see that spirit and constant forward progress reflected in the stories throughout this issue of 草榴社区 Magazine. Even while dealing with challenges, 草榴社区ns never stopped moving鈥攆inding ways to learn, grow and ignite change in ways big and small. Their generosity, innovation and compassion found a way to shine through.

We return to campus with new perspectives, new lessons learned, new opportunities and renewed faith in our resilience as a community that can withstand any challenge together. We can appreciate the return to the people, places and traditions that make 草榴社区 special, while also acknowledging that this time has changed us鈥攖ogether we have grown and continue to grow. This is the journey, the journey of becoming what we are not yet.

Sincerely,

The Rev. Peter M. Donohue,聽OSA, PhD, 鈥75 CLAS

President

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