April 2011, Issue 7
Visiting With...Dr Stan Carpenter, Keynote Speaker
Student Affairs Conference 2011 – Dr. Stan Carpenter Closing Remarks*
So, the next time someone you meet asks you what you do—don’t hem and haw as we all do in student affairs, knowing they won’t easily understand. Instead, draw yourself up, look them in the eye and say:
“I am a guardian of democracy;
I carry the water of life for our society;
I am the bearer of compassion and concern, the dispeller of pessimism and hatred;
I am the bringer of fire to the mind and hope to the heart;
I am the herald of love to all who will listen, to all who would learn.
I am an Educator!”**
*By request from Student Affairs staff and with Dr. Carpenter’s permission.
**This is an excerpt from the story “I Am an Educator” by Stan Carpenter. It appeared in:
Marshall, S.M. (Ed.). (2009). More Stories of Inspiration: 51 Uplifting Tales of Courage, Humor, Healing and Learning in Student Affairs. Washington, DC: NASPA, Inc.