More of My Baltimore--Many Baltimores Coming Together

This is a story of six amazing women, two amazing university's, and a talented son, all of whom are important parts of my Baltimore. 

Some people use the phrase "worlds colliding" when what seem to be differently compartmentalized parts of their lives intersect.  For my Baltimore, I like to use the phrase "many Baltimores blending together."  In part, because I find the image of blending more appealing than the image of colliding.  In part, because I truly think that in my Baltimore it is more of a blending than a collision.  My city is a wonderful mixture of different elements that sometimes are far apart but other times are brought together.  And in my existence they are all there and mixed together in a way that makes an incredible whole.  It is easy to imagine different ingredients in a mixing bowl that come together and end up as an amazing and integrated whole as the hypothetical electric mixer turns them all together.

My middle son is about to graduate from the Baltimore School for the Arts.  Yesterday was the third annual Courting Art event at which art from students at the city's high schools was on display in the lobby of the Eastside Courthouse.  The art that was there yesterday plus some other pieces were on display at a local community college some time ago.  The pieces on display yesterday were finalists.  

The Eastside Courthouse is a building that I have driven past for years but never been inside.  Yesterday's trip inside was interesting as I learned the interesting fact that all the civil and criminal domestic violence cases are heard there.  I heard from speakers including the CEO of Baltimore City Schools (i.e., superintendent), Judge Weinstein and Chief Judge Barbera.

I have seen each of these three powerful women speak before.  The Superintendent had spoken at a local networking breakfast.  She presents an amazingly hopeful and powerful image of public education in Baltimore City.  She apologized for having to leave early for an event for her own children.  I am glad to know that she is grounded in her own family-based reality.

Judge Weinstein is an amazing woman.  I'd also seen her speak at a networking event and know of her ties to and dedication to finding ways to guide local veterans when they have to interact with the legal system.  I had no idea of her interest in art and local public education.  In retrospect, it is no surprise that she has an interest in those areas--it is reflective of her overall interest in and investment in Baltimore as a community with amazing potential.  It turns out that she was also the supervisor for the colleague closest to me on the organizational chart at the Carey Business School right now when my colleague was interning during the completion of her law studies. Judge Weinstein also mentioned that the Courting Art idea had come from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, close to where I'd grown up.

Chief Judge Barbera is the chief judge of the Maryland Court of Appeals (what my state calls its state level Supreme Court).  I had seen her speak when my closest mentee and running partner was sworn into the Maryland State Bar in 2016.  She was one of several judges who spoke about the importance of art in students' training and the importance of art in the courtroom.  She, as with others, noted the strong emotions with which people come to a courthouse.  She noted the calming effect of giving people something to look at and ponder other than the bare walls of the courthouse.  I would have heard all the same words she spoke whether I'd seen her before or not.  For me, however, somehow it seemed to make a difference in how I heard her knowing what her position was and what that position means.  More than anything else, knowing that she chose to invest some of her time in this effort in light of all the other things she has to do was impressive.

Finally, I met one of my son's teachers with whom I had not crossed paths in some time.  She is a wonderful and energetic teacher who was clearly connected with the other city art teachers who were at the event.  And she commented on the fact that I had a light blue rose brooch.  She asked if there was some significance.  I told her that it was just my way of trying to add some flare to otherwise conservative business attire and that I was fortunate to work with a local tailor whose shop carried an array of colors of rose brooches.  

So, in one evening I heard from three amazing women who represent crossing paths with two other amazing women (my colleague and mentee).  I met a fourth amazing women who was fascinated by a fashion choice that is a function of advice given to me by my boss and opportunities presented by my tailor.  And all of this is because of the investment in my son's art that another amazing woman (my wife) and I have been willing to make over time and that Baltimore City provides opportunities for within the public school system. 

In conclusion, while my son's art was not chosen among the top five, the top two received not only scholarship money but access to a summer program at MICA. My son will be attending MICA as a student starting this fall and the business school at which I am vice dean for education partners with MICA to offer a design leadership program.  It is wonderful seeing the local art college making an investment in the city's public education as well.  

Details and Impressions

Sometimes I forget just how important details can be when making an impression on someone.  One detail that nearly everyone in the business school knows about me at this point is that I have a selection of floral lapel pins in different colors.  Maybe not everyone could say offhandedly that “Kevin has 10 different colors” but just about everyone knows I wear them.  The pins and the colors are part of my identity.

So, when a colleague from the Office of Development and Alumni relations brought me a new pin to ask me to wear it for several weeks leading up to an event, it was no big deal to me to agree to wear it.  What was interesting was one detail forgotten and one detail noticed.

The pin said, Beet Week.  The detail I had forgotten was “what on earth is Beet Week?”  I was quickly reminded that it is a week being planned by our alumni relations team to emphasize the idea of philanthropy for our students who are graduating and will soon be alumni.  The reference to the root vegetable is because of a story related to the donor who gave the money to start the business school at Johns Hopkins (https://youtu.be/v_qiAR1Fz3w). 

The detail that I noticed was that the colors on the pin.  THe background of the pin was blue and the word week was in orange (blue and orange together are the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School colors) but the word beet was in white.  White is not a color I immediately think of when I think of beets.  I think of the red/purple of beets on a salad or pickled beets (sometimes along with pickled eggs).  I asked my colleague, “This word beet must be white to make us think of sugar beets?”  (See the story above.)  She was surprised but pleased that I had noticed that detail, and she commented that I was the only one who had noticed. 

I’ve known this colleague long enough and well enough that I didn’t necessarily need to worry about another positive impression. However, the two minute exchange was a great reminder of how much people appreciate details that are meaningful to them being noticed.  That appreciation can yield a stronger bond, more trust, and better collaboration.  That makes recognizing and pointing out details well worth the effort.

In Pursuit of Excellence

The last time I wrote was after my easy 4 miles on Wednesday.  Today, is Friday.  It is unusual to have a Friday to rest but I do.  I will have one last run tomorrow before the 5K race on Sunday for which I have been training diligently.  The person who helped me develop a training plan says I've done all the right things to achieve my goal.  Now the key is to remind myself of that goal and to visualize.  So what is the goal: 18:59 or better.  Other than the GBMC 5K last year that was short by everyone's GPS watch and for which I didn't feel like I had run a sub-19), I have not run a 5K at a sub-19 pace since I was a teenager.  In fact, probably since 1986.  Ronald Reagan was president.  I had not graduated from high school.  I was probably watching the Cosby Show, Cheers, Night Court, and Family Ties.  It's been a long time.

Yesterday, I ran 3x2x200. Short workout.  Intended for the track.  But there was lightning when it was time to go.  I do track workouts alone.  I do track workouts in the rain.  I've even been known to do one or two alone and in the rain.  But I don't do them alone and in the rain when there is thunder and lightning.  So, I did it on the treadmill.  It is not often that I set the treadmill for 10.8 MPH, 11.3 MPH, and 11.8 MPH--even for 1/8 of a mile.  And I don't expect to hit those paces during the race except for the very end.  If I can run my 6:06 first mile (a little net down) and come through with a 6:06 second mile (pretty flat), then run a 3-ish 800 M, all I will have left is 0.6 miles.  And at that point, anything goes.  And when I have 0.1 miles left, I will dig deep and give the race everything I have.  If all goes well, I'll be able to find it in me to kick like I was running at the end yesterday and set a new grown up PR--and hit my sub-19.

That is my pursuit of running excellence.  My run yesterday put me up to 828.4 miles which puts me coming off the Madison County Transit Nature Trail in Granite City, IL, getting ready to run counterclockwise around the Horseshoe Lake.  The Catholic church in this city is called Holy Family, and that is neat because I want to talk about a few things having to do with family today.

Wednesday we had the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School's commencement ceremony.  I read all the names.  We finished in record time.  It was a great event.  It was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the pursuit of excellence with family.  It was also reflective of pursuit of excellence within the "family" of Carey employees.  We made that ceremony come off as seamlessly as possible and the teamwork aspect was great. 

Wednesday evening, I went to the last 3rd grade parent-teacher evening I will ever attend at the Waldorf School of Baltimore.  We talked about 3d grade highlights and a bit of a 4th grade preview.  And we painted wet on wet.  My appreciation for art has increased since I got my tattoo. My appreciation for the hard work to produce good art has increased even more since I got my tattoo.  When I get my picture, I will have to show it.  (It is not cery good)   Wet on wet painting is one thing that requires patience and control to pursue excellence.  Done often enough one learns how to work with the flowing colors rather than be frustrated by it.  It is kind of like running.  Painful/difficult at first, perhaps.  But after doing it enough times it becomes second nature.  One learns how to work with one's body and the random things that occur around it in the pursuit of excellence for running.  The experience made me slow down and breathe deep, so that was also very relaxing at the end of a long day.

We talked about geography as a unit in fourth grade.  The teacher mentioned that some adults don't have much of a sense of direction.  One of the joys of running alone or designing courses to run with one or two friends has been an incredibly more developed sense of direction about the roads on the runs that I do.  I would not call it a pursuit of excellence for me, but it is definitely part of my development of excellence. And for the kids, it may clearly be a pursuit.

Finally, in terms of family and pursuit of excellence, I attended the Baltimore School for the Arts senior honors recital last night.  Seven young adults getting ready to move on to study music in college who were able to develop a 15 minute repertoire of music to perform in two parts.  Amazing.  Pursuit of excellence celebrated with family and facilitated by family.  It will be fun to see where these kids (including my oldest son and his girlfriend of three years) go.  

The First Day of the Next Stage of My Career

Looking ahead to tomorrow I think of it as the first day of the next stage of my career.  Why?  Well, it is not the official day of my transition to the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School as their new Vice Dean for Education--that does not come until April 1.  But I still see tomorrow as an important piece of the progression as I will be (for the first time) at a meeting that has not been called simply because I am there.  Rather, I will be integrating myself into the regular rhythm of the school which has management team meetings on Wednesday afternoons.  These will inevitably become a regular thing for me looking ahead.  And since tomorrow is the first one that I will attend, it really does mark the first day of the serious transition stage.

I am also cautious to say the next stage of my career rather than the rest of my career.  I had for a while thought that I would be a Bloomberg School of Public Health lifer.  Now, my hope is to be a Johns Hopkins University lifer even if I end up in different places along the way.  Given that I will have spent 16 3/4 years at the Bloomberg School of Public Health before I transfer and that my active working career could include that much time almost twice again, (that would pu me at about 78 which many people in academia work until), I really think it may be the next stage.

I have no idea what will come after this stage, but every transition I have ever made has been exciting, and I can only look forward to what comes next.  

The Hamster Half and Risk Aversion

Borrowing a phrase from a friend's post on Facebook, today I trained a "Hamster Half". My friend indicated that he would be doing a snow run because he was not a hamster.  I thought about that comment a lot as I ran 13.1 miles in 99 minutes and 55 seconds--doing it just fast enough so that the counter on the treadmill would not "turn over" (an old arcade term).  I suppose I even felt more like a hamster with the treadmill inclined up just a little.

In any case, many of my friends ran outside this weekend, and it certainly was warm enough to consider it late this morning.  But I have concluded that I am fairly risk averse--reflective of not wanting to take any risk os possibly taking a fall or twisting an ankle on a small spot at a corner or on an un-shoveled walk where snow was not fully removed and could now be slick.

It is interesting to think about risk aversion. In general, I think of myself as a fairly risk averse person.  Wanting to know that things are almost certain to work out before I take them on.  But Friday, someone pointed out that I have taken a new position at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School as the Vice Dean for Education.  It is a fairly new school with a change in leadership and a change of school and a lot of new responsibility for me.  My colleague thought I could not be too risk averse.

So, it is interesting to think about the combination of activities that I have and how my risk aversion fits (or does not fit) with each one.     

Outsiders and Creativity

Despite being on the faculty at the Johns Hopkins University, I don't always read the Johns Hopkins magazine (a publication for alumni, students, faculty, etc.) every time I get it.  A couple days ago, I was trying to straighten up some of the mess that is "my stuff" at home and paged through the magazine coming upon an interesting article about whether "outsiders" are more creative.  It was fascinating as it told the story of a paper by Sharon Kim, a faculty member at the Carey Business School, who had done a study that produced evidence consistent with the idea that "rejection is not merely a byproduct of the fact that creative people can be unconventional but that the experience itself may promote creativity."  (For the record, I am quoting the article which directly quotes the paper by Professor Kim and two colleagues.)  The article concludes with a quote from Professor Kim as she thinks "the hero in this story is independence.  That is something that people don't talk about often, the benefits of being different...I think that identifying the ways in which being independent can foster creativity is important."

The article was also careful to note that not everyone who is an outsider is necessarily creative and that not all situations that make someone feel like an outsider necessarily result in greater creativity.  That was definitely neither the article's purpose nor the conclusion of Dr. Kim's research.

What is interesting for me to ponder what this means in my own life. It is neither Biblical nor religious at all, yet the search for meaning fits perfectly with my Augustinian spirituality.  In any case, I think about feeling like an outsider (in some ways) in high school and playing Dungeons and Dragons.  The latter (known as D&D back in the day) was not necessarily creativity for the good of society, but it did involve creativity.  I think about leaving the hard sciences after my freshman year at Penn State and after spending what felt like years in high school preparing for and switching to health policy as an "outsider".  That led to seeing things in ways that may have been a little different.  I eventually moved into "health economics" and the economics part particularly having been admitted to the School of Public Health at Michigan first and then joining the economics department and coming at things a bit differently.  Even my success at Johns Hopkins in the Bloomberg School of Public Health--successful as a researcher, yes, but with a love of teaching that is not as highly rewarded as if I were at a small liberal arts college, and the creativity and new thinking that I have brought to my teaching.

Am I saying that I have been perfect in any of these tasks with extra creativity?  No.  Am I saying that I was ever as wildly creative as Steve Jobs--of course not and I will never be?  Am I saying that I am always an outsider--no.  I just tend to come at things from the outside and then hang around long enough to become an insider.  What is interesting is that once I become an insider new opportunities appear for me to find a way to come at something new from the outside and take a fresh look.  It may or may not benefit society--or even my little niche within society.  But I find the new challenges refreshing, uplifting, and amazing.

What will happen when I turn the next corner?  Who knows--but I'm sure it will be interesting, whatever it is.