All in a Day's Work

I worked yesterday. I enjoyed myself.

I was overwhelmed while interviewing a 17 year old boy with a brain tumor. It's benign, but he's had two brain surgeries, radiation, and chemotherapy and sat in the office telling me all about it.

He's partially paralyzed on his right side as a result.

So much of what I normally discuss in an interview seemed trivial. What's his potential for leadership, academic success, etc.? While his peers have been involving themselves in activities to fatten their college applications, he's been in physical/occupational therapy sessions, learning to walk again.

We had a good conversation about the ways he's been able to see God at work, but he was slow at answering my questions due to his brain's inability to process information quickly, and I wanted to be sensitive to the effort it took him to have a conversation.

Interviews like this remind me of why I love working in admissions. I felt challenged to live life with a positive attitude, I felt intense love for my own children, and I felt so thankful that I have a healthy family...all in a day's work.