Life is a series of moments: some happy, some funny, some frightening, some sad. As I grow older, I find that certain moments stand out in my mind. There are the seminal moments, of course: exchanging wedding vows, attending funerals, walking across the stage at commencement. These kinds of things are usually easy to remember, but I am more taken by memories of smaller moments. I am sure a psychologist or neurologist could explain why we remember what we do, but I actually like the wonder and serendipity of it all.
Life is a series of moments: some happy, some funny, some frightening, some sad. As I grow older, I find that certain moments stand out in my mind. There are the seminal moments, of course: exchanging wedding vows, attending funerals, walking across the stage at commencement. These kinds of things are usually easy to remember, but I am more taken by memories of smaller moments. I am sure a psychologist or neurologist could explain why we remember what we do, but I actually like the wonder and serendipity of it all.
I recently saw a few of my cousins that I have not seen in many years. As we talked story over dinner, I got caught up on their children and their lives, of course, but inevitably the conversations turned to memories we had. Grandma’s brownies, moments in our childhood, family gatherings, each of us remembered something slightly different (well, we all remembered the brownies!) and by putting those memories together, we had a rich story of our shared past that served to tie us together these many years later. As adults, we have had far fewer moments together, but over dinner we were transported back to those special memories.
My career is also a series of moments. One of my favorite teaching moments was watching a group of adult students act out a section of the novel “Don Quixote.” I had encouraged the students to be creative, and this particular group of 40-something adults chose to act out their section with sock puppets.
As they crouched under their tablet desks with their sock puppets, I could not hold back my laughter. As tears streamed down my cheeks, I marveled at the way they caught the spirit of a novel in which things are not always what they seem and entertained their classmates at the same time. This is something I rarely see in traditional-age college students, who are typically much more self-conscious, as befits their age. I remember little else from that semester, but that moment of laughter I will never forget. These former students would now be in their 60s and 70s, and I wonder if they remember the professor that let them be silly and whether they valued the lessons offered by looking at the novel in a different way.
As I write this, I am in Nashville attending the NCAA convention. As one does at this kind of meeting, we were asked to share ideas around the table, and as we introduced ourselves, I said I was the chancellor at UH Hilo. An NCAA staff member and another college president smiled brightly and said, “UH Hilo, isn’t that where David is from?” David, now one of our alumni, has served with distinction as a member of the national Student Athlete Advisory Committee at the NCAA. It is a great honor for him to represent our conference in national meetings, but what makes this conference moment meaningful to me is that our university is known because of the actions of one of our students.
The rest of the conference will probably fade in my memory, but I am sure I will remember that moment at the table when I was known as David’s chancellor. As David himself reflects on his NCAA journey, he is also collecting memories of moments that will follow him into the future.
When we talk about the university experience, we tend to focus on what knowledge students gain directly from their courses and what skills they gain from their research experiences, their practica or their internships. All of those are part of the high quality education the state of Hawaii funds and will help students thrive in their future careers.
As students take these learning journeys, however, they are also building their lives and their characters. They may not remember all of the specifics they were taught in their courses — despite our best efforts — but they will remember random moments that for one reason or another are meaningful to them. They may not remember a professor’s name, but they will remember how that professor made them feel. They will remember the random moments in time that make up who they have become.
Bonnie D. Irwin is chancellor of the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Her column appears monthly in the Tribune-Herald.