Sometimes, I don’t think we know the kind of impact someone has on our lives until they’re gone.  You begin to think like this as you come towards the end of a chapter in your life, and especially when someone leaves your chapter before its done.  I’m talking about my friends at school here at AU, including my friend Dan Siefken.  Dan was my RD that I worked with for two years in Smith Hall.  The first day I met Siefken, I thought he was going to be a stickler on the rules and a wet blanket ha.  I had more fun those two years of school then the rest and wouldn’t trade some of those memories for anything in the world.

    During those two years, Dan was a great friend and mentor.  We had a lot of fun, but he also took the brunt of some of my frustrations with our school.  He helped me in a time when things were the hardest and was an advocate for me when I needed one.  I got to run into him the other day on campus.  It was during a random visit and he was only here for a few hours.  He now works in Guatemala with Hearts In Motion, so running into him is kind of a big deal ha.  This year, a lot of guys who were RAs for him are graduating and moving on to other things.  I know that for some his impact was great.  For example, he was an encouragement to one of us who spent a lot of money – now that person is planning on working with the homeless and has been in charge of working with the local mission.  Anyway, its just good to recognize the impact that others have on our lives before its too late!

-Jon      (me on the left and Dan on the far right)