Thanksgiving

It is 6:00 PM on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. Classes ended Monday and the students are hunkered down for finals. My wife has already called me wanting to know why I am not home yet. The plain answer is that I have some written materials due for a CLE that I should have done long ago. They will be finished soon.

At this time of year, I always reflect on the blessings of my life and one of my greatest blessings was the opportunity to come back to my law school as Dean. I work daily with an incredibly competent staff and faculty that cares deeply about our students and one another. I am also blessed with a remarkable group of students. Here is an example.

Representatives of the student Community Services Organization came to me earlier in the semester and asked me if they could do a "Cumberland Christmas" just before finals started. They wanted to raise money to help families who could not otherwise afford Christmas and to do an angel tree.I gave them the go-ahead not knowing how successful they would be. This week, I received an email from Carin Brown, a 3L who is the president of the Community Services Organization. She said

Everyone who participated in Cumberland Christmas 2008 did a fabulous job. We are absolutely thrilled with the student, faculty and staff's response. We raised over $600 and every single angel was chosen. Students even teamed up with others to purchase big ticket items. In the 2L class, there was a team of 12 students who bought an X-box and games for one of the families. Thanks to everyone's support and participation, we were able to give 12 children (7 families) a very bright Christmas with lots of presents this year.

Our students are a great mix. They win national championships in advocacy but understand how important it is to help those less fortunate. It is an honor to be around them.

I hope that you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving.