R. John Montgom...'s blog

Much of what I choose to write about in my blog is spurred by questions which consistently come up during the tours I give for admissions. Fortunately, many of the inquiries prospective students have cover topics which I am passionate about myself. The topic of this posting is again something I feel strongly about and I am proud of the commitment St. Lawrence has to it. So, here is my response to the availability of community service opportunities through St. Lawrence. 

Every August forty St. Lawrence students end their summer vacations a week early and return to campus. They come not out of boredom, rather to offer their enthusiastic services to incoming students.

The weather turns cold, bodies are bundled as students sport new outerwear purchased during the discount summer season from clearance racks and trendy thrift shops, and fuzzy caterpillars creep the upper lips of the male students at St. Lawrence University. These fury friends, some shaved from burly beards others sprouting from fresh faces, are grown to support a cause many at St. Lawrence hold dear. 

Bienvenidos, ni hao, jambo, bienvenue, salām. A warm welcome to all who are gathered here today. For today we share in the celebration of potential. In a little less than four years you will reconvene here once again in the celebration of accomplishment, but that is for another time. 

A day after I summited the second highest peak in New York State, I sit sore and tired. My legs ached from miles of walking uphill, and I am exhausted from waking up at 6 am to leave for the high peak region of the Adirondacks. As I nurse my swollen feet, a map lays open upon the table. The ache has not yet gone away, and I am already planning my next trip, this time for the highest peak of Mt. Marcy, which I stared at in jealous want from the top of Algonquin.                    

      In a speech I gave to admitted students during a visit days in late April, I tried to convey what is unique about being a part of St. Lawrence University. I mentioned but failed to fully explain the feeling of place St. Lawrence students experience when pulling off route 11 into Canton.