Considering that the first week has come and gone, there are plenty
of topics I could blog about. How the first week of being back in clinic
went (busy), another successful orientation (I’ve been taking part in
orientations since the fall of 2007, and this one may have been my
last!), how easy it is to see time as forever and nothing at the same
time (I’m sure you know what I mean.) But those are perhaps topics for
another person, or another blog post. I’d like to talk to you about
something not commonly blogged about from a student perspective: SCO
administration.
Yep, the first week of the fall semester is in the books. Already,
students are enjoying the many benefits of our new academic classrooms
and labs. Increased study space, gorgeous new labs that almost make me
want to go back all over again (Ha. Almost!), outlets everywhere you could ever want them, including in our lecture halls.
Even on Wednesday, the second day of class last week, I started
getting the feeling that people were already selecting their new
preferred study spots. Students, after all, are creatures of habit. In
fact, several days in a row, I saw two second years comfortably settled
in the same places along the back wall of the old classroom. And it was
while talking to them about how the fall semester was going so far when I
realized how awesome our administration at SCO is.
While I was talking with the second years, Dr. Anderson, our Vice
President of Institutional Advancement, approached us to ask what we
thought of the new building. “Awesome!” we all said, or at least
something to that effect. We praised the space and comfort of the new
lecture halls, the beauty of the new atrium’s design (so much natural
lighting!), the acoustic clarity provided by the classrooms.
“All right,” said Dr. Anderson, “do you have any suggestions for the new building? Any improvements we could make?”
I will admit that I was a little surprised by her question. That she
would be asking “what can we do better” just two days after the
inaugural usage of the building was a little unexpected. However, as the
second years made their suggestions (longer operating hours to take
advantage of all the new study spaces, etc.), I realized that I
shouldn’t be surprised one bit. After all, it was the administration’s
asking of the students “how can we improve your academic experience here
at SCO” that led to the creation of the new auditorium in the first
place. From what I understand, the most common complaint the
administration was receiving from students about the old academic spaces
was that their college classrooms were much nicer and much more
technologically advanced than ours. So, the administration took steps to
fix that, and I believe they went way beyond that. Indeed, they most
certainly had the future in mind when dreaming up our new academic
complex.
After listening to the two second years, Dr. Anderson said that she
actually had a meeting the next day about the new building and would
bring up their concerns. While the second years’ suggestions may not
take into effect, I definitely got a sense that their concerns were
heard. That, I think, is one of SCO’s great strengths: administration
that listens to students, faculty, and staff, and an administration that
looks to the future. For proof of that, look no further than our shiny
new building, a simple patio just a year and a half ago, but a
state-of-the-art learning facility now for decades of future clinicians
to come.