My last blog post from Asia

This will be my last blog post from Asia this year. Unfortunately my recruiting time is cut short by one week due to unfortunate circumstances. As I type this it is Monday morning and I am sitting in Singapore Changi Airport awaiting a flight that departs for San Francisco in 45 minutes. For those of you who do not know I am returning to the States because my Grandpa passed away this weekend while I was in Chiang Mai, Thailand. I was supposed to return this next weekend after a few more stops in Singapore, Taipei, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong. Due to the circumstances that will not be the case and I will be back in Illinois by late Monday night. Fortunately I have awesome colleagues continuing on for the final week and they have agreed to set up the Vanderbilt table at the college fairs and school visits and will collect all inquiry cards filled out by prospective students. I regret not being able to connect with students and counselors I have met and built meaningful relationships with these past few years, but there is no where on this planet I should be right now other than Illinois with my family.

My Grandpa was a great man and the definition of what a grandfather should be. He would have been 90 next year, so he had the great fortune of living a long, eventful, successful, healthy, and happy life. I consider myself lucky to have known him for 28 years and have so many great memories I know he will never leave my thoughts for one day the rest of my life. His impact will influence me every day for the rest of my life. My grandparents lived just 30 minutes from us growing up, so hardly a week went by where we didn’t see one another, and on top of that we took many vacations across the country together and I stayed at their farm and then their house in Cambridge so many times I couldn’t even count them all now. Grandpa was someone I admired because he set an example anyone could follow. He cared deeply for others, he was active and involved, he had a quick and detailed mind, he was funny, and he put family and friends above all else. I will miss our conversations; card, domino, and board games; his insight regarding any problem or issue that came along; his timely and great sense of humor; and most importantly just seeing him everytime we got together.

This time of the year is usually one I look forward to, the recruiting trip to Asia – while work-related and extremely busy – is also a great three weeks to connect with friends and colleagues, see some great sights, and explore the world. When I pack my dress suits for this trip I am excited, it means I will be wearing them at college fairs and school visits meeting with students, or on the busses or airplanes, laughing, joking, and having fun with friends as we are heading to the next city; however this time when I packed my bag for today’s flight I knew the next time I would wear the suit would be as we lay my Grandpa to rest, and that is a sad, sad day, but I look forward to celebrating his life with my family.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this Asia blog, I wish I had more entries this week and that I was going anywhere but home for a funeral, but that is where I should be and I will be back on the recruiting trail in Israel, Istanbul, and Europe in late October so watch for new blog posts then. God bless.