How many times have I walked along Rainier Vista? Trudged through its pavement in rain and smoke? I always dreaded when the wind would blow droplets of Drumheller Fountain on me. It’s an attraction better seen than worn, but there’s no escaping its commanding jurisdiction, or the prolific geese that spend their afternoons bathing in it. I envied their leisurely disposition.
Oh, and the thousands of Red Square denizens I have seen! The Bible belchers! The enthusiastic club reps! The iPad-toting lost tourists! Even the seagulls who lurk next to students desperately waiting for dropped food seem autochthonous to this campus crossroad. Certainly, these bricks could tell stories redolent of a more colorful Husky Experience.
But still, respite awaited me in verdant nooks carved among these collegiate gothic buildings. The benches and trees have witnessed my intimate moments of heartaches and work stress. Even when the Quad suffocates with cherry blossom lovers, walking around campus was always a delight to the senses.
And now, it is time for a new challenge in a new place. Three years of working with leaders across the world, and I could not have asked for a more regal setting, or a more supportive team. Thank you for being the stable foundation that undergirded the past three years of growing my soul.