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Fall
2008
The Peak
A newsletter of Pinnacle, the nontraditional honor society.
First and foremost, please note our mailing address. We are based
in Columbia, Missouri, the home of the University of Missouri,
Stephens College, and Columbia College. The immediate area is
home to another half-dozen institutions of higher learning. Our
address is 501 Cedar Lane, Columbia, MO 65201. The telephone number
is (573) 289-8868. However, the best way to stay in touch with
us is through this Website, since we check our e-mail constantly.
Just e-mail us at <office@pinnaclespire.org>.
We
have been recommending to our chartered institutions that they
e-mail their List of Honorees to us prior to mailing us the list
and the students' Personal Data Sheets. When you e-mail, please
let us know the date by which you need the certificates, pins,
and diploma seals. We will choose our mailing method based on
your deadline. Please also make sure that the names on the list
are spelled properly and are exactly in the form that the recipients
want their names to appear on their certificates. Our usual form
of response is the United States Postal Service Priority Mail,
although we use UPS when speed is of the utmost importance.
As our chartered institutional members know, Pinnacle has had
a close relationship with ANTSHE, the Association for Non-Traditional
Students in Higher Education, since its founding. ANTSHE is comprised
of non-traditional students and professionals who work with this
unique student population. The organization's mission is to "encourage
and coordinate support, education, and advocacy for the adult
learning community." ANTSHE members hold an annual conference
which moves around the country each year. The last two conferences
were held in Georgia and New Hampshire. The next conference will
be hosted by our friends and longtime Pinnacle members at Middle
Tennessee State University south of Nashville. The dates are February
29th to March 2nd. We encourage you to get involved in this valuable
organization. We hope to see you in Nashville!
Another organization important to non-traditional student services
is CAEL, the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning. CAEL
is a non-profit organization committed to providing better access
to education for adults, through partnerships with business, government,
labor, and higher education. It also holds an annual conference
with sessions designed to help institutions do a better job of
attracting and serving adult students. CAEL publishes a number
of books to assist members in their work, including Principles
of Effectiveness for Serving Adult Learners, which provides a
flexible framework of policies and practices that help make educational
programs more attractive and accessible to adult learners. For
several years CAEL has also published Best Practices in adult
Learning. Again, membership in CAEL can be of great value to you
and your institution. The 2008 CAEL International Conference will
be held on November 12-14, 2008 in Philadelphia. The theme of
the 2008 Conference will be "Lifelong Learning: Building
Pathways to Independence."
Speaking of innovative ways of serving adult students, if your
Pinnacle chapter has taken on an interesting project, created
some new service, succeeded in changing institutional or local
policies to benefit adult students, or succeeded in other ways
in making life a little bit better or easier for non-traditional
students, please let us know about it. Our office often serves
as a conduit for good ideas from around the country. Sometimes
we even feature such innovations in this newsletter.
We are always heartened by newspaper clippings of all the wonderful
projects Pinnacle chapters undertake and by the personal accomplishments
of individual members. Every month brings clippings, photographs,
and feature stories from local and campus newspapers. We love
that stuff, so keep sending it! We also enjoy scanning the many
Websites which have been created by Pinnacle chapters. It's clear
that some of the best Web-based ideas are being widely adapted
these days.
Every year we are overwhelmed by the accomplishments of our honorees.
Here are just a few highlights from the honorees for last year:
- We honored
another small town mayor, two school board members, and a few
town council members.
- Among the
honorees were police officers, fire fighters, and some EMTs.
- There were
several single mothers with multiple kids who somehow managed
to be active in their children's schools, worked part-time,
and still were on track to graduate with honors.
- There were
a growing number of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts,
including some who were wounded in service to their country.
- Among the
honorees were retirees who had gone back to school, oftentimes
to start all over again in completely different career fields.
- There were
single dads galore, more every year it seems. Virtually everyone
of them worked while going to college and still stayed active
in their kids lives both in school and in sports.
- There was
a professional clown again this year, several store managers,
a past statewide beauty queen, several women running their own
companies, and some highly decorated service personnel.
- Three honorees
were running their own online businesses which they had started
from scratch, and the income was now supporting their families.
- We probably
honored a record number of adult students this past year who
had to overcome youthful learning disabilities in order to succeed
academically.
- A few honorees'
accomplishments were especially heartwarming because they had
overcome severe disabilities.
Stay in touch and continue your Good Work!
Frank H. Julian
fjulian@fastmail.fm
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