"We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.” - JK Rowling
 |
| At our A-List celebration on April 10, 2018, at the Peninsula Chicago Hotel: Ramzan Elimkhajiyev, Ying Ying Tan, Cordelia Yuyun Shen, David Ulis, Ritsan Gyaltshen, Aidana Seitova, yours truly Valerie Beck, Francisco Yiqian Zhan Du, Fanyi Wang, Martim Castro, Hanane Awad, Christopher Hand, Annefried Moller, Miguel Andrade! |
Pop quiz:
Q. What is the A-List?
A. It's the club of Kendall College students who earned an A in my class!
Q. What does it mean to be on the A-List?
A. You get perks, starting with a party!
Here's to each of my students who - through your dedication and imagination, your critical thinking and big dreaming - earned an A in my International Business or Business Law class last term at Kendall College!
To celebrate your induction into our A-List club, we gathered at the Peninsula Chicago Hotel, where I was delighted to be able to treat our group to a custom afternoon tea - a chocolatey one, of course! Our gathering was buoyantly cheerful and also felt particularly meaningful because it was our final tea celebration, as last term was my final term teaching at Kendall and as Kendall is planned to transition to new ownership by National Louis University this summer.
Congratulations to our new A-Listers who were present:
- Miguel Andrade
- Hanane Awad
- Francisco Yiqian Zhan Du
- Ramzan Elimkhajiyev
- Ritsen Gyaltshen
- Christopher Hand
- Annefried Moller
- Aidana Seitova
- Cordelia Yuyun Shen
- Ying Ying Tan
- David Ulis
- Fanyi Wang
And thank you to our returning A-Lister who accepted my invitation to share with the group what the A-List means to him:
- Martim Castro
 |
| First-class settings for our A-Listers |
 |
| On our custom menu: cherry chocolate pastries with edible flowers, and mint chocolate pastries with edible gold, plus coffee or tea |
In our thoughtful group discussion, it was wonderful to hear what some of you like about studying at Kendall, such as the active learning methods in our classrooms and on our field trips, and what some of you would change, such as the absence of leading-edge sustainability practices like food bank donations in our kitchens and other spaces. We also talked about opportunities to take those messages forward as Kendall transitions to NLU.
I presented certificates to each A-Lister, as tangible tokens of success, and we played our Write A Compliment game, where everyone passed their certificates around and everyone wrote a compliment about you, as you wrote compliments about everyone else on their certificates. After your certificate went around the table and came back to you, you acquired a beautiful collection of wonderful elements that others see in you, to keep forever such as in a "rainy day file" of materials guaranteed to cheer you up whenever you need it! And you gave everyone a boost of uplift or encouragement!
What if your colleagues saw gifts in you that you didn't notice or value? And what if you praised aspects of them that they didn't know anyone noticed or cared about? How magnificent! This is part of the beauty of the Write A Compliment game!
 |
| On the front: your certificate of A-List status. On the back: receive compliments written by your colleagues, as you write compliments to each of them, and your certificate gains extra meaning! |
We also enjoyed special craft chocolate bars that I brought to our gathering, just as it was always a pleasure to bring craft chocolate to class as part of our case studies, or simply for fun and to enjoy pure and sustainable luxury chocolate made from just cacao and sugar - "all you need!"
 |
| I'm delighted to have brought extra chocolate just as in class: Dandelion Chocolate Kokoa Kamili Tanzania, made in San Francisco, and Ranger Chocolate Piura Peru, made in Portland, Oregon. And, just as our refrain went in class: cacao and sugar - all you need! |
 |
| Thank you to Fanyi for the Downton Abbey deluxe DVD set! I am grateful for this thoughtful and elegant gift. |
 |
| Thank you to Hanane for the chocolate cookies from Spain! I appreciate this delicious and international present. |
We took photos galore, and we didn't want to leave! In a way, we don't have to: I've created an A-List LinkedIn Group as promised, so that A-Listers can share thoughts, news, opportunities, questions, or just good old A-List camaraderie! If you're an A-Lister and we're not already connected on LinkedIn, please send me an invitation, and I'll invite you to the group!
 |
| With ladies of intelligence and elegance: Aidana, Cordelia, Ying Ying, yours truly, Annefried, Hanane, Ritsen. |
 |
| With gentlemen of character and kindness: David, Ramzan, Miguel, yours truly, Christopher, Francisco, Martim, Fanyi. |
I thank our Kendall Leadership for always supporting the A-List, and above all I thank YOU - my awesome and amazing A-Listers! I have loved working with you, will be thrilled to keep in touch with you, and will forever be deeply proud of you for your hard work, for your open-mindedness, for your positivity and professionalism, and for simply being you!
What will we do next on the A-List? We shall see!
Keep up your great dedication and imagination, and here's to your big dreams coming true!
Onward and upward!
Valerie Beck
 |
| Peninsula style for the A-List! |
