Last Lecture – History of WFU
For those of you who like history, today’s Daily Deac is for you. Many years ago, we ran a Last Lecture series, which invited faculty to imagine that they had only one more lecture left to give students, and had to focus on what they really and truly wanted students to know.
One of our wonderful alumnae and former faculty members, Jenny Puckett (’71), did a Last Lecture that blended her love of the campus with her love for Wake Forest history:
For all of us in the Wake Forest family, one thing that defines us, and of which we are rightfully proud, is our sense of community. I never get tired of that moment, at the conclusion of the playing of our alma mater, when students roar out the last line, Mother So Dear. Because, although “Dear Old Wake Forest” works us to death sometimes, we all love Mother So Dear, yet we may not know exactly why we feel such a passionate affection for the old girl….
So, instead of giving a lecture tonight, I would like to invite you to take a walk with me around our campus. Our hike will take us to seven different places, some of which are just not considered landmarks. At each place we’ll take some snapshots, look at it from another point of view, and perhaps see it a little differently the next time we pass by.
I invite you to read and enjoy Jenny’s Last Lecture and step through these seven spots on campus. Though it is from 2009, I think it more than stands the test of time.
I also have been making my way through some of the questions you submitted in the Daily Deac survey a few weeks ago. Here are a couple:
What is your day job with the university? I work in Communications and External Relations doing parent and family communications and some crisis communications work (running the parents.wfu.edu website and the Daily Deac blog) and working with the Call Center. I had just changed over to a full-time communications role about the time COVID hit in March (what timing, eh?). Previously I had done parent and family events (new student receptions, etc.) and communications.
How do you do it every day? I love to write, and it really doesn’t take me that long to write the blog on a daily basis. Somewhere between 15-30 minutes on average; for complicated or sensitive things, it takes longer. The longest ones tend to be my April Fool’s issues 🙂
Do you have any help or do you write and post completely on your own?? 95+% of them are all me. Occasionally I will have a guest blogger. But it should be said that a lot of the content in the Daily Deac is stuff other people have created already – news stories or event postings, etc. and I am just gathering them and curating for you.
You ever send a Christmas card with a picture of the Demon Deacon on it? Actually I have not. In years past, most of our Christmas cards had our dogs on it, then once Class of ’27 was born, we used his holiday drawings on them. A few years ago, I gave myself the gift of not doing cards anymore, because they stressed me out too much at a time when it was already so busy with other holiday stuff.
You ever eat at Putters? Yes indeedy. Best chicken fingers in all of Winston!
The Demon Divas reached out to me to tell me about their new holiday album, which was released on December 20th. Entitled A December To Remember, the cheerful holiday album is available for download and streaming on Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube. The ladies said that with the guidance of the Wake Forest Office of Student Engagement, they were able to safely record the album; they had to follow strict guidelines and protocols to ensure the safety of their members and the rest of the Wake Forest community.
Finally, today’s picture of the day is a close up of the wreaths they would hang on the front of Reynolda Hall. This made for an especially festive Quad. I hope your home is feeling festive and joyous.
