When you find a restaurant or movie you like, you want to share it with others. That's exactly how I feel about the experience of accomplishment which follows completing a half-marathon or any other race. So far, I've shared it with friends and several students.

My half-marathon finisher medals hang behind my desk in my classroom. When students ask about them, it's my opportunity to share this is one way I am still pushing myself, still taking on challenges. The intention is to remind students that a high school diploma is just one of many, many goals they'll take on and achieve throughout their lives.

On May 19th, eight students from my small high school joined me on a Saturday morning to run, jog or walk the community around our school as part of World Vision's Global 6k. None of the students had previously participated in a race.

The student participants were all early. One arrived a full ninety minutes early. He was so excited. A few students, including one who is heading straight to the army, ran the distance and waited for the rest of us to take pictures. Another student kept a steady walking pace. He was last to cross the finish line, our campus gate. He beamed. He was proud of his accomplishment. He also shared afterwards that he was excited to make a difference in bringing drinking water to children on the other side of the world.

I'll organize and host the same event next year and each after until I retire. Students have changed since I began teaching twenty-plus years ago. What hasn't changed is the size of their hearts and the desire to positively impact the world.

See you on the path.