Farewell week: Final senior selfie

On Thursday morning, I met with a group of graduating senior men for a few hours. I could have spent all day with them, and I didn’t want our time together to come to a close. I had a similar meeting with a group of graduating women on Wednesday afternoon. For the first time in recent memory, I won’t be at Friday’s or Saturday’s commencement; instead, I will be in Washington, DC, for the solemn ordination into Catholic priesthood of one of our former athletes. It is a special, one-of-a-kind event that I absolutely could not miss. Do I feel guilty about not “being there” for our athletes, after four or five years together? You bet I do. I will miss them greatly and dearly. While this one final selfie was indeed “neat,” saying goodbye to these men and women was far from it. We hope and trust they will stay in touch in the coming years and become loyal alumni.