Full disclosure: For this first blog post, I initially wrote something eloquent (well, my 13-year-old liked it), dramatically welcoming the New Year and attempting a poetic comparison between the Columns and the sparkling white snow that blanketed the Hill during the first frigid weeks of January.
What a way to tempt fate!
As things go at Westminster, the semester quickly lurched into gear at full speed, the College’s calendar filled up, and projects in Institutional Marketing and Strategic Communications backed up. Before I knew it, midterms approached. Then finals.
When I began this third blog post attempt, the Delt house was blasting some kind of classic rock from the giant speakers on the fraternity’s expansive front porch, while landscapers armed with leaf blowers cut across the Quad sidewalks in attempts to shoot freshly cut grass clippings out of sight before commencement activities began.
Commencement commenced. Congratulations, Class of 2025! I proofed your program in five flat minutes before we booted it off to the printer who warned we would have NO PROGRAM if they didn’t receive copy that afternoon. There are three careless errors within that I challenge you to find, Where’s Waldo-style. You can do this by the pool with a cool drink in hand.
Oh, and a bunch of other stuff happened. Let’s see: at least five honor society inductions and awards ceremonies with photos shot by our staff, some formal dinners, some informal dinners, some speeches, some livestreaming, some Museum events (one involving a real-life mascot and one involving a real-life former parliament member). We threw in some bell-ringing meant to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, but that was mistakenly believed by many to commemorate the announcement of the new pope. I think some kind of Blue Jays sports took place but I was too busy chained to my computer to notice. My apologies to the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. That’s why they have Tyler Oberlag.
Where was I? Then we sprinted to the Columns Ceremony, snapping photos while trying to shove our bodies in between ecstatic parents and flying beverages.
Then we left the Hill satisfied but a little sad, because now our students are gone. And campus is silent.
So now that we all have time to catch our breath, THIS really is the perfect time for a fresh start, and a brief introduction: For those who don’t know me, I grew up near campus, graduated from Westminster and for the past six years have managed the College’s news site from behind the scenes, weaving together countless stories about this extraordinary place, with relative objectivity and anonymity based in principles learned years ago from a journalism class at Westminster Hall. Our former Associated Press reporter-turned-adjunct instructor admonished us, “It’s not about you!”
And yet, if social media has taught us anything, today it can be about all of us. At the encouragement of my boss, Dr. Stephanie Wells, Vice President of Institutional Marketing and Strategic Communications, I’m stepping out of the shadows to introduce myself as the coordinator of an entertaining new blog our department is proud to introduce to you today: Notes From the Nest.
Now, in addition to chasing Westminster’s many exciting headlines, I’m pleased the College is launching a platform of a wider variety of unique insights, photos and videos that will celebrate the campus so many of us call home. Notes From the Nest will showcase the many talents of the Institutional Marketing and Strategic Communications team as well as occasional guest blog posts from students, faculty and staff on a variety of subjects. I’ll even throw in some alumni updates, including monthly Class News & Notes.
So here’s to fresh starts … to keeping real time with Westminster’s nonstop pace. No need to wait for fall leaves on the Hill (or bad poetry) for the next update. The College doesn’t slow down, and neither will Notes From the Nest.
Sarah Rummel Backer is the Director of Media Relations and Senior Writer at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. A proud Westminster graduate, Sarah has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and strategic communications in the areas of higher education, medicine, agriculture, and the private business sector.
