Whoooop Whooooop We Picked Our Colleges!!!!!

This has been a HUGE challenge to select the schools we would visit for my sabbatical work.  We needed to select 10 colleges, universities or trade schools that would appeal to our local students.  We will visit each campus and create a virtual field trip to appeal to our local students.  It's been so hard because we really wanted to pick the schools that were best for our students.  We used many resources including:  Washington Monthly, Inside Colleges, US News and World Report, Hawaii Association of College Advising Counselors, the Aspen Institute, and  Community College Week. We also interviewed the college counselors at Honoka'a High School, Hawaii Preparatory Academy, and more.  We interviewed teachers, students and college students.  We also showed various websites to our current students to see what appealed to them.  We rated schools on tuition, location, proximity to other schools for transfers, housing, athletics, crime stats, programs and academics, requirements, membership in WUE, and overall appeal. We selected large schools, small schools, rural schools and urban.  We wanted some familiar schools but also some our students never heard of.  We considered over 200 schools and FINALLY have narrowed it down to 15.  We only have to do 10, but will visit 15 and select the top ten in which to create the virtual field trip.  This has been an ongoing task that has taken well over a hundred hours.  So....here's the list!!!! (In No Particular Order)

1. Northern Arizona University
2. New Mexico State University
3. Oregon State
4. University of the Redlands
5. Colorado Mesa University
6. University of Northern Colorado
7. Portland State
8. Vermillon Community College
9. Santa Barbara City College
10. University of Nevada Las Vegas
11. Skagit Valley Community College
12. Yavapai College
13. Snow College
14. Taft College
15. Wisconsin Indianhead Tech College

So glad this part is done!  It will really help us with our travel plans!!!!!

All Over the Place

I will hopefully get better at this blog, but for now, I'm too scattered to be together.  So I'm writing in a way to demonstrate how I'm feeling...
Yes!  We're set to depart in about 45 days!  I can't believe it...I've gone from saying that I would do this trip in, "8 or 9 years, to 45 days!"  Yikes!  I wake up every morning and go to bed each night planning and planning.
I can't believe how unprepared I actually am.  I realize so much is on my shoulders and I keep praying that it will all just work out.  As I put together the first couple of weeks, I begin to realize this is going to be a very very busy trip!  We will be on the move, a lot!  It's also very exciting.
As I try to choose between activities and itineraries, I also try to determine what's the most important parts of this trip.
Always, first is the time I spend with the girls.  I SEE the growing up happening and I am craving the time away from school, activities, commitments, chores, and other distractions to be together.
Second on my list of what's important is visiting family and friends that I haven't seen in years and years!  I absolutely can't wait!  I'll even have the chance to get to know new family members which is super cool!  Third is the chance to share our lives with others through visits, hula, and help.  We want to serve others as much as we can as we travel.
So, again, I am so close, and plan and plan...but I know that we can only plan so much and that life is what's happening while we're busy planning.  Life has a way of changing on us and exceeding our expectations and sometimes throwing us a huge challenge or difficulty.  I know that no matter what, God will be our ever present source of strength and guidance.
I'm anxious, but grateful.  I'm humbled by the opportunity.
Most of all I'm going to miss my wonderful, supportive, funny, and very handsome husband!
Hope gas prices go down some more.  Sledding in Oregon!!!  Skiing-No Way, we'll break something, or at least Hana Girl will.  Yosemite in the snow?  YES!
Yep, I'm all over the place.