Final weeks of the semester

The spring goes by in a blur of admissions work for me, but outside our office, it’s about the most interesting time of the year.  In just the past few weeks, Fletcher students ran or attended a successful Energy Conference, and listened to a whole bunch of special lectures.  Since I can’t list them all, you might want to click on the highlighted dates on the April Fletcher calendar.

Classes end Monday but that doesn’t mean the events have come to a quiet close.  Instead, recent Fletcher grad Andrew Lewis will highlight a conversation session with the Diplomacy Club.  And today, there’s a featured talk about the Turkish economy, before students start tying their bow ties for tonight’s annual Diplomat’s Ball.  (Sadly, no links to share — you’ll need to trust me that it has been the source of much discussion.)  Dip Ball attendees will want to cut short their sleep to attend tomorrow’s Spring Fling.  (Even I might come up to campus at about 1:00 to catch Lupe.)

There are two past events that warrant particular mention.  First was Brian William’s participation in the annual Edward R. Murrow Forum on  Issues in Journalism.  The event was sponsored, in part, by Fletcher’s Murrow Center for Public Diplomacy.  And the second was the very special lecture last Friday by Muhammad Yunus.

Honestly, I have no idea how students manage to complete all their academic work.

An amusing aside — no matter how advanced their technology, some phones are still not a good match for a student in international affairs.  Margot shared her failed attempt to convince her phone to allow her to tell a friend that she had walked by Muhammad Yunus.  In an email, she further noted, “It’s not every place where passing Muhammad Yunus on the sidewalk is something worthy of a text in the first place — that’s sort of a Fletcher thing.”