As I have been waking up every morning this week, I started thinking that I was in the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray. Yes, it's probably considered an "old" movie to many, but if you haven't seen it, Bill Murray's character keeps waking up on Groundhog Day (February 2nd). He experiences the day and the day's events over and over and over.
I was thinking about this because I wake up, take a shower, get dressed, take my kids to school, drive 40 minutes (or more) to the University of New Haven (stopping of course to pick up my coffee and double chocolate donuts), get out of my car, go into the office, send email, return calls, meet with prospective students, write letters, go to meetings, review applications, drive home, go to bed, and then do it all over again the next day - and the next day.
It seems repetitive - and it probably would be - if I didn't in fact work at the University of New Haven. Unlike most of the colleges and universities out there, we are different - and in a very good way! There is constantly something new and exciting happening and it all benefits our students.
Earlier today, I was talking to one of our Music Industry instructors about what he is doing in his classes. This particular instructor used to work full-time for Columbia Records and he is team-teaching a Music Production course this semester. He enlisted the help of one of our best campus bands (Music, Music Industry, and Music & Sound Recording are very popular majors at UNH) and they brought in six songs which they had demoed. The class was then divided into five production teams with the instructors serving as a sixth. By semester's end, they will have a very interesting album comprised of the original six demos followed by each team's production of their respective songs. This includes arrangement, recording, orchestration, mixing, and editing.
They are then going to manufacture 1,000 cd's (designed label, booklet, traycard, disc, jewel case, and shrinkwrap) and our Graphic Design students are going to create the actual booklet, traycard, and label (on disc). Talk about Experiential Education!!
While students at many colleges are going through the motions, our students are learning by doing and participating in projects like this one. What a great experience! Obviously, there are a lot more things happening, but I was very impressed and excited by this news. So .... while it may have started out like it was Groundhog Day again, it ended up being a very different day - as it always is at the University of New Haven!!
