Applauding the 76 3rd Graders, Their Teachers, Our 39 Undergraduate Students, the Center for Social Impact, and Kate Wellen for a Fantastic Day

"We're arriving early," they said a week ago, so I planned ahead. Then yesterday's text arrived and it read, "Okay, we'll be 30 minutes earlier than we thought." Well, then. Crandall-crazy to the rescue. How do we keep energetic 8 and 9 year olds focused until the big kids come to the arena?

All in all it was a tremendous success, where all the students wrote not just once, but twice (mapping out a space meaningful to the and we discussed the Fairfield University map). 

"Whoa! Y'all got robots!" 

That was the highlight of the day, and to be honest, they've become the norm. Kids across campus can order food from Gub Hub or the Tully, and the robots carry it to their dorms. Swear to God. Been mini-R2D2 creatures all over our campus giving the turkey a run for their money. They are pretty fascinating, actually. I'm intrigued and would love to learn more about them myself.

Special shout out to Keisha Biko (Elementary Education) and Latoya Lisle (Reading & Language Development / Connecticut Writing Project). They were the visionaries who wanted to cultivate geniuses with their young people on campus. Their administration was all on board!

Amazing teachers. Wonderful youth. Impressive undergraduates who stepped up for the day. A win-win-win for sure.

Ah, but fasting and the energy of 3rd graders. Phew. I don't know what my name is any more. But I'm up and at it for another day. We got this!