December 2012

So Tyson finished out this semester with straight A's. What a nerd. Oops, I mean "hard worker". I remember when I was a kid, some of my friends would get paid $5 for each A they earned on their report card. Tyson, I owe you $20.

Not only did Tyson get straight A's, he miserably worked on a team project for a case competition. I say miserably because a) he dislikes team assignments, b) the assignment wasn't easy, c) his team kept scheduling meetings for late at night, close to campus (we live about 40 minutes from there) and d) not only did he have to present in class, he ALSO had to [gasp] take time off work to present the project in a large, science-fair type setting.

He won the case competition. What a NERD! And by nerd, I mean "hard worker." Won the thing. Here's his grand prize:

I admit, I'm a little jealous. I never won any case competitions in college. I never HAD any case competitions in college, but that's not the point. Not that I'm competitive or anything.

But that's okay, it turns out I won an award this year too. One of my staff members embarked on a covert operation to nominate me for "Ben's Bells." So late on Friday afternoon, a bunch of our program alumni and program staff surprised me with roses, and a visit from the founder of Ben's Bells. Here's what she presented me:

The irony is, the entire time we were being photographed for the newspaper article, my new lightsaber (given to me by my staff for my birthday) was dangling from my belt. Can't wait to see that photo...

And here's the roses the alumni and staff chipped in to buy for me! What an awesome way to start the Christmas holiday!

Bragging rights for Tyler? His sentence structure has become much more complex, and his problem-solving skills and creativity are growing. For example, he has converted the infamous step stool into his dinner table - setting his plate on the bench part of the stool, and sitting on the step. Facing the TV, of course.