Here we are at the end of the semester - the end of the last semester for some.  4 years have come and gone and now we must move on into the next part of our lives.  As the end approaches, I start thinking about the beginning.  Freshman year, I had no idea what was happening with anything.  I would just go where my friends went. (I was a shy freshman)  Slowly over the years, I became involved in things that my close friends were not involved in.  Now I am doing all sorts of things with new people and have no problem with doing them.  I became a member of a lot of different clubs, president of some clubs, worked phone-a-thons, worked in the admissions office, joined the tennis team for a while (I wasn’t any good though), coached some swimming for the town team, and student taught at BHS.  I think I have come a long way from the lost, shy freshman that I started off being and most seniors here at Lyon will tell you the same thing about themselves.  You really grow during your college years - especially here at Lyon.  There are so many different things for what ever you are interested in and so many different ways to become a leader. 

I will miss all the people here at Lyon.  My people in Admissions have been so great.  They are so understanding about when I have to miss work to catch up on some homework that has gotten stacked up.  They also feed us well when we do cookouts! :-D  They are some great people to do workstudy with.  I will miss the professors here as well.  Every professor I have had here at Lyon really cares about me.  You hear that all the time at any college you look at, but here THEY REALLY DO CARE.  If you miss class, they are going to ask where you were.  They are worried about you being sick or hurt.  They expect you to come to their office to get help on things you don’t understand.  I have phone numbers (home and office) for the professors that I need to get ahold of for help.  And they are all asking what I am going to be doing next year.  They want to see what I am going to make of myself.  I will also miss all the students I have meet here at Lyon.  My close friends and I will stay close but all those other people that I have gotten to know over the years, I will probably loose touch with and that makes me sad.  There are some great students here and they will be great people after Lyon College.  They have learned so many valuable lessons here and I know they will take them into the world and make it a better place.  The med majors…  I would trust most of them to be my doctor. ;-)  The psyc majors…  they will make some excellent counselors or speech paths or whatever else they do.  The education majors…  I know all these people will make some great teachers - I’ve worked with them all year.  The business majors…  you can tell they will be awesome bosses.  The politic majors… man they know so much about politics!  I struggle to keep up with who is winning the primaries…  The religion/philosophy majors…  you guys will be the ones going to Africa and helping the needy children and families.  Y’all have huge hearts and will be awesome at anything you do.  I know I did not get everyone but there is not time enough to hit all of them although I know they will all do spetacular things with their lives. 

Lyon, I will miss you but I will take all I have learned here and take it out into the “real world.”  The liberal education I have learned here will make me a better citizen and a higher educated person.  I will do my best to change the world for the better.  Thank you and goodbye!