Reflecting on a truly vibrant semester
As I think back on the fall semester, one word comes to mind: Vibrant.
Sure, there were the leaves. And an abundance of clear blue autumn skies. The kind of days that draw us out of our offices and huddle rooms and into the great outdoors. The kind of days that breathe calm into our hectic schedules and never-ending to-do lists.
Student life felt equally vibrant. From the OMS1 pickleball craze to between-class ball sports (being played daringly close to the Heritage Hall windows), our current students seem to have found a balance between work and play that will serve them well in the months ahead. Their playful creativity was on full display this past Halloween, with some of the best group costumes I鈥檝e seen in my 12 years at Heritage College!
One of the brightest moments of the semester for me personally was the day we learned that Heritage College researchers had secured an $8M research facilities construction grant from the National Institutes of Health. With that grant, Heritage College now tops all colleges of osteopathic medicine in NIH Funding!
And our construction grant will soon translate to big progress on the Heritage Translational Research Center. (Do you see what I did there? 馃槈) By the time you get back for Spring Semester classes, we will have the site prepped and ready for construction, if all goes according to plan.
We鈥檝e also been able to paint a more vibrant picture of our community impact this semester, thanks to a recent Voinovich School study. $63 million in annual social and economic gains for Southeast Ohio is nothing short of remarkable!
Of course, med school isn鈥檛 all rainbows. The environment is necessarily challenging and sometimes downright stressful. No doubt you feel that as the semester draws to a close. Wherever you find yourself today, I hope you take heart in the vibrant learning community and supportive environment that we share.
In this season of finals and end-of-semester deadlines, I encourage you to look up from your laptop from time to time and take it all in. The curiosity. The discovery. The compassion. The care.
How lucky are we to learn and grow together in such a vibrant place?!
Ken Johnson, D.O.