Letter from the Editor

I love all the seasons. Yes, I said all of them. Red, orange and yellow leaves — so gorgeous. Falling snow — yes, bring it. Tulips and tree blossoms — breathtaking, right? But there is just something about summer, isn't there? I don't know if it's because it's warm outside and everything is green and beautiful, or if it's because we're sort of programmed — from years of getting summers off school — to want to change gears, stop the daily grind for a minute, jump in some water or just get outside and reacquaint ourselves with this big, amazing, floating rock that we call Earth.

Whatever the reason, I sure hope everyone takes some time to enjoy this season, even if it's in small doses. Personally, those small doses can turn my day around. I can walk up a sidewalk on campus making mental lists of all the things I need to do by 5 p.m. or thinking about something that went wrong the day before — but then I notice the sparkle of dewdrops catching the sunlight on the grass, or I pause to appreciate the sheer athleticism of a squirrel jumping from one tree to another, upside down. If those little things can make a bit of magic, so can we.

At Marshall, we have all kinds of magic happening, as always. We have a cross-country alum, Dan Green, who won a 250-mile race — which he actually ran on foot, just to be clear. I can't even imagine how that is done. Can you? We have partners from Intuit — the brilliant company behind Quicken and TurboTax — who are helping us strengthen our local economy and provide our students with internships and financial literacy training. We have HELP, a tutoring program that gives each student the personalized academic support they need to absolutely take off and excel. We have remarkable students, employees and alumni, whom we're shining a spotlight on as they inspire us in athletics, health care, literature and good, old-fashioned hospitality.

In this issue, we're also highlighting the great outdoors, and the ways in which members of our Marshall family like to enjoy nature and all that this region has to offer — and also the ways in which some are contributing to the outdoor recreation industry. We realize there are many ways to cover this ground, and we're highlighting just a handful of people — which we know just skims the surface, like the perfect, flat skipping rock.

So go ahead and pour yourself a glass of iced tea, sit yourself down on the porch swing and take a minute to enjoy the diversity of ways that our folks are celebrating this wild and wonderful region. Let them inspire you, like an oak that has weathered 100 years of storms and like our own beloved bison, which weighs 1,000 pounds or more, but stays surprisingly quick and agile.

We are, after all, an institution of higher learning, always appreciative of a good lesson. Here in West Virginia, we recommend letting these hills teach you some things, too. If you've come to Marshall, for whatever reason, don't miss any chances to get way off campus a time or two. We can't wait to hear your stories when you get back.

Jean Hardiman, Editor