An “SLCL Social Gathering” was held via Zoom on Wednesday, Dec. 16, to celebrate the ending of a (challenging) semester and the beginning of the holiday season. Elena Delgado, Director of the SLCL, was emcee for the event, which included all department heads, staff, and faculty.

New faculty and staff were asked to introduce  themselves: who they were, their field of expertise, but also one “fun fact” that is not to be found on their CVs or resumes. Among other things, we now know that we have among our faculty and staff bakers, gymnasts, and writers and musicians in various genres (from poetry to mariachi). Another highlight was a game of “guess who”, in which photos were shown of faculty or staff members. These photos ranged from baby to teen years and everyone was invited to guess who was who. This provided many laughs throughout. The stories that accompanied the images were funny, witty and moving.

Lastly, everyone present was invited to vote on whose “fun fact” and “guess who” photo was most interesting. When all the votes were tabulated Jazmine Summerville and Dee Ann Bates’ anecdotes about themselves tied for first in the former category, and Karen McNeely’s picture and moving story was selected for the latter. A donation will be made in their name to one of the food/emergency assistance programs that the university sponsors (no university funds have been used for this donation, only personal).

As the final image of the event indicated, 2020 was a tough year, but we rolled with it!