A Walk Down Memory Lane

The past 24 hours I took a long ride down memory lane to a place that I called home for two years. I place that molded me and shaped me into the person I am today and the place where I met and made some of my dearest and closest friends. And, a place I left 17 years ago. Yesterday I took a journey down the memory lane or Hwy 36 across Kansas back to my first college. The place where I first lived on my own and the place where I first experienced life: Colby Community College. And today I learned just one more lesson at this alma mater of mine. Today I learned that to say good-bye to a mentor it is so nice to be surrounded by people who share so many memories with you.

Those of you who know me well know that I’m a planner, and well, my plans for this week didn’t include going to Colby. Not until my I got the e-mail from my JuCo livestock coach Nick on Tuesday and found out that one of my all-time favorite teachers, “Pick” had passed away. Then, my best bud Christy and I started burning up the phone lines between W. KS and Joe Town trying to figure out our action plan—funeral attendance; rallying our judging team; getting a memorial together; and where was all of our team? And at that first moment I talked to Christy I knew I would be driving to Colby.

You see Pick didn’t just teach chemistry. He taught students. He cared about the individuals. He wasn’t just herding kids through a classroom to assign grades and get a paycheck like so many instructors I’ve had at the three colleges I’ve attended. He was there and he wanted you to learn. The first day of class, he would give out his home phone number and his “woman’s” phone number and invited students to call—up to a certain time. But if you needed individual help, he was there for you too. I remember more than one occasion, he would stick around or come back to the chem lab and teach me in the evenings after I’d put the weekly newspaper to bed or finished working out with the judging team. He wanted us to learn. And that never stopped. Today, on the back of the funeral program, was the periodic table of elements—only Pick.

And he knew his students too. He called everyone by name, or Brother John or Sister Susie. But, I worked at Burger King during college, and he came in there on weekends for coffee. So eventually, I became Sister Whopper, a name only Pick could get away with calling me!

I can tell you because of Pick, a lot of students over 3 plus decades learned more than just chemistry at CCC. They learned how to listen, how to care and how to give back to others. And, some of them like my friend Christy even were inspired enough to become a science teacher too.

So, no I didn’t plan on driving over 700 miles this week to say good bye to a friend and mentor, but I’m glad I did. Saying good bye is never easy, but I had two of my judging team mates, my coach and a whole community gathered there with me. And I saw other teachers and class mates I hadn’t seen for 17 years. It was journey filled with mixed emotions. Some of my best memories in life happened right there at CCC; some of my saddest memories too. But all scenarios share a common thread--the friends that I have made and still have. Friends that are like family to me and friends that are always there. It was great to see those friends today as we said good bye to one great friend, Max Pickerill.