This post started with a straightforward mission: Thanks to an Innovation Grant from the Educational Foundation, I’m organizing an (optional) improv theater workshop during January in-service. In order to help promote this virtual workshop, I wanted to share some research by UNC Chapel Hill professor Keith Sawyer, author of “The Creative Classroom: Innovative Teaching for 21st-Century Learners.” Very intellectual stuff. But then I read this recent Inside Higher Ed essay by an award-winning biology professor, who explained why attending improv classes made her a better teacher, a better listener, and a better partner. In her essay, this professor credited a TEDx talk by artist Rebecca Northan, who inspired her to sign up improv classes. And now I’m a little emotional after watching the video, so I will share the big takeaways: Fear holds us back. Fear makes us cranky, negative, terrified of failure, and disconnected. Fear makes us say no, in an attempt to feel in control and safe. Does any of this sound familiar? If you find yourself in the fear zone, try these techniques of improv instead: Be positiveSay yes, and see what kind of adventures you might go on.Embrace failure — it’s the fastest way to learn… Continue Reading Falling in love in a time of fearRead More
I’ve written before about the pandemic being a portal (credit: novelist Arundhati Roy), and it’s becoming clear my portal is leading to my teenage self, in all her 1990s glory. A combination of things have rattled some long-dormant memories over the past 6 months: My quarantine closet purges … a playful “two truths and lie” game during our recent Institutional Advancement retreat … and overall soul-searching in a time of crisis. I spent one Sunday in September reflecting on some of the “magic moments” in my life … to help refuel myself during such a difficult year. Most of these moments involve teachers and mentors. I hesitate to share this essay with the whole college. This is a post I wrote for my personal blog, and I poured my heart into it. But I think it’s important to share more about ourselves and the decisions that have brought us together on the same path through Virginia Western. This is one of the most important conversations, isn’t it? What motivates us — and our students — to do our best, most fulfilling work? What do we truly want? I make a couple of obligatory book recommendations … and I also reveal… Continue Reading How to create moments of real magicRead More
If you’re anything like me, then you have been streaming *a lot* of TV during this pandemic. I just finished “The Witcher” on Netflix, and whew … it rocked my world. Left me in angry tears. A more serious documentary called “Hungry to Learn” also left me in a puddle when I first watched it in April. This is an excellent project by executive producer Soledad O’Brien. The film takes the depressing stats — 45% of college students struggle with hunger — and brings the crisis to life through the stories of four students. The documentary prominently features Sara Goldrick-Rab, the Temple University professor who founded the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice. You may remember Sara Goldrick-Rab’s name from our “Superheroes, Assemble!” resource roundup during January 2020 in-service, where I talked about her 2016 book, “Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream.” I also suggested adding her basic needs security statement to class syllabi. When Virginia Western realized 17% of CCAP’s incoming class admitted to food insecurity in a student poll, our superhero colleagues in the Educational Foundation and Student Services scrambled to establish our student food co-op. And that was… Continue Reading ‘Hungry to Learn’ documentary about college student food insecurity now streaming for freeRead More
About Shelley
Shelley Lyons is glad to be back on campus as she is a Virginia Western alum, and has served as the Administrative Officer for Grants Administration at Virginia Western since early 2022. Prior to VWCC, her career focus was within the Human Services and Arts fields. She wrote her first grant in 1996 on a whim and has continued to plan and learn since that time. She most enjoys seeing a well-planned project come to fruition, where funder, project manager and beneficiaries can all feel success and see impact.
Recent Posts
- Why Try An LOI? May 10, 2024
- Grant Nerds Unite! March 12, 2024
- The Power of Collaboration November 17, 2023
- Time to Innovate October 4, 2023
- How to tackle grant season? August 14, 2023