We have just gone through the longest and ugliest presidential campaign of my life! Every time I thought it couldn’t possibly get worse, it did. A week before the election, I concluded that my friends, neighbors, Facebook buddies and even my fellow parishioners were so passionately and irrevocably divided that some relationships might not survive the election. And then, Ben Zobrist laced a double down the left field line in the top of the 10th inning in the seventh game of the World Series to give the Cubs a lead over the Cleveland Indians they never relinquished. I could hardly believe it; the Chicago Cubs were World Champions! That’s when I knew our nation was going to be okay too.

The loud noise awakened me with a start; I rushed to the door to see what had happened. As I opened it, I heard a rhythmic shout, “Ali!” “Ali!” “Ali!” “Ali!”  Dawn was just breaking across the small city where we lived in Congo (then called Zaire) but I knew that Muhammad Ali had done the impossible—defeating George Foreman in Kinshasa, in the Rumble in the Jungle.  The fight for the world heavyweight championship belt had started at 4:00 am,

A college degree can make a significant difference to students and their families!  Although success doesn’t come easily, there are specific things that students can do to increase the likelihood that they will succeed in college.  The following presentation, shared with several groups of Arizona parents and their students, looks at the research and suggests specific strategies for finishing college–and doing so in a timely way.   You can click on the following link and download the presentation: What High School Students and Their Parents Should Know About College