Happy Rocks

In this Issue:

• Happy Rocks
• Business professor integrates service in leadership course
• New AI-powered tool promises to translate student texts in real time

Lastnight at 6:15 p.m., I was walking from my class in Kirby-Manchester hall (right by the lower Quad) to my car (behind the ZSR Library lot). And when I got out of class, the lower Quad felt amazing: the temps were low 80s, students were all over the outside picnic tables and groups of Adirondack chairs – some eating dinner, some just chatting. The vibe felt perfect: relaxed, friendly, happy.

And it was on that walk to my car that I started noticing little pops of color on the ground, tucked away in places so you wouldn’t trip over them (see below, click to enlarge).

I’m calling these Happy Rocks. Read on.

Happy Rocks

So as I walked across the south part of campus, I started taking a closer look at these Happy Rocks. They all have little messages of affirmation on them and are painted in lovely eye-catching colors. Here is a sampling:

As I went from the lower Quad past Tribble and around ZSR, it almost felt like an Easter egg hunt: I was scanning the ground as I walked so I did not miss one of these tiny pieces of joy. Honestly, it was hard not to feel good reading these.

I am assuming they are on other parts of campus? (Student readers, if you are seeing ones worth sharing, hit reply on this Daily Deac and send me pics!) And I’ve no idea which individual or group is making these Happy Rocks – but whoever you are, ROCK ON (pun intended!) My late mother would offer you her highest compliment: a two-tiered halo, which she reserved for people doing angelic good works.

Keep it up!

Business professor integrates service in leadership course

As long as I am sharing happy things today – like the happy rocks – I thought this was another meaningful story to share:

“In the spirit of Pro Humanitate, Business Professor Douglas Johnson and students recently assembled outside Farrell Hall to construct beds for A Bed and A Book, a North Carolina-based nonprofit organization founded in Winston-Salem. The beds will soon be delivered to families in need throughout the Triad as a part of A Bed and A Book’s ongoing mission to provide a safe place for children to dream….

Students from Johnson’s Calloway Leadership Experience courses…now gather each spring to build beds for local children….’By offering the volunteer opportunity right outside the Business School and during class time, we are also teaching servant leadership, corporate social responsibility, teamwork, leadership, and communication skills to those enrolled in the class, while demonstrating community engagement to those who witness the efforts,’ added Johnson.”

The students also sold popcorn and collected donations, raising $10,029 to cover the cost of the 24 beds and to support future projects. If that doesn’t make you proud to be a Deac (or Deac parent/alumnus/a, etc.), I don’t know what will.

Read the full story here.

New AI-powered tool promises to translate student texts in real time

My team at Wake uses Slack as a communication tool, and because we have a wide variety of writers, web designers, technology gurus, and more, we have an AI channel where we share AI-related news. I saw this today and it totally caught my eye: it was a post about a new AI tool:

“We’ve all had the experience.

You text your student to see how their day is going, and what you get back is brief. Vague. Slightly reassuring… but also not entirely convincing:

I’m good.

You’re left wondering: Good how? Emotionally good? Academically good? Financially good? I have three exams and no clean laundry good?

Well, relief may be on the horizon.

A new AI-powered tool (developed by tech startup Filialytics) promises to translate student texts in real time—helping parents understand what their student actually means. Here are a few early examples from beta testing:

• “I’m ok” → “I need $100 but I don’t want to explain why.”
• “Food in the dining hall is fine” → “I have eaten cereal for three consecutive meals.”
• “Can we talk later?” → “Respectfully, no.”
• “I’m studying” → “I opened my laptop but am going to watch TikTok on my phone for the next 2 hours.”
• “I’m tired” → “Sleep is now a theoretical concept.”
• “Everything’s under control” → “Define ‘under control.’”

The tool reportedly uses a combination of machine learning, behavioral pattern analysis, and what Filialytics describes as “deep familiarity with college student communication norms.”

While still in development, early feedback from parents has been overwhelmingly positive—particularly among those who have long suspected that “I’m good/ok/fine” exists on a very wide spectrum. If you want to be part of the beta testing, you can visit Filialytics’ website. Or you can continue reading and see that this story really is about – at the heart of it – a big fat April Fools joke! [Don’t hate me because I am witty].

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We’re past the middle of the work week – may you coast gently towards a happy weekend!