The Loss of a Friend

In 2005 I applied to be an adjunct at Ivy Tech in Logansport.  Little did I know at the time that the Logansport campus was part of the Kokomo  region and that all hiring went through that campus.  Tom Ghering called me for an interview.  During that meeting he offered me a full time position, which I laughed at because I already had a job teaching high school students and I had no intention of leaving that position.

Once again...little did I know that the following school year would find me teaching full time at the Logansport campus of Ivy Tech Community College.  Tom was my program chair, and he became a good friend.

During my ten years at Ivy Tech, Tom changed 'titles' several times. But he always encouraged me.  He supported me.

I remember his giving me an online ENGL 111 class to teach.  I told him I had never taken an online course, let alone teach one, and I had no idea what to do.  He told me it was time I learned and he would help me through it.  That was my second semester with the college. That was the first of my teaching at least one online course every semester.

After teaching American lit a few semesters, I suggested that a change was needed to improve enrollment.  He told me to create an online course, offer it state wide, and see what happened. Me?  Create an online course?  Me?   That opened the door for me to create not only the ENGL 222 online course, but spurred me on to create the second half of the series as well, ENGL 223.  I taught both of those for several years, capping the enrollment at 20 and reaching that cap often.

I told Tom that he always gave me a challenge, and he reminded me that I always met that challenge with positive energy and was successful.

As with every full time faculty, I started as an Instructor, then moved to an Assistant Professor  I wasn't sure that I wanted to apply for re-classification as Associate Professor, but Tom (and Kim King) encouraged me to pursue that next step.  Tom was the chair for my re-classification committee, and I remember that he let me sweat a little bit by not notifying me immediately after the committee meeting.  When he finally called me with the good news, I told him I had been a little nervous.  His response?  It was a no-brainer for me to be receive reclassification, and the process took just a few minutes for them to review and agree, so the rest of their time was spent chatting until someone suggested that I might want to know!   I am sure that if I had decided to pursue full professorship, he would have supported me every step of the way.  I didn't because I knew I was going to retire and the time and energy I would have spent working on the needed steps to complete my portfolio would have taken me away from my grandchildren, and they were too important to me.

When I needed letters for teaching as an adjunct at Trine, who wrote one for me?  Tom.

When I decided to retire, who was one of the first people I called?  Tom.

When Kim announced at the last Adjunct Orientation meeting that I chaired, that I was retiring and that evening was my last official duty, and everyone applauded and many lined up to give me hugs and offer congratulations, who was standing there beside me, with a box of kleenex?  Tom

Who was the only faculty member who visited me at the hospital following my knee surgery and sent me flowers?  Tom

Who would always 'like' the pictures I would share on FB of the kids?  Tom

Who bought me breakfast in November after I gave him a box of collector spoons that had been my mother-in-law's to give to his mother who also collected spoons?  Tom

Who collapsed in his classroom on Monday, hit his head, and died?  Tom.

My friend.  My reason for being at Ivy Tech in the first place.  But most of all my friend.  Tom.

Tom is dead.

I will miss him.

His young granddaughter will be heartbroken.

His younger grandson will barely remember his grandfather and the spaghetti he used to make for him.

His mother will be crushed.

His sons will no longer have their mentor to rely upon.

And I have lost my friend.

If it hadn't been for him, I would never have made the move to Ivy Tech.  He saw the potential in me to accomplish what I did in those 10 years at the college.  

Thank you, Tom, for being my boss, my mentor, my friend.