Congratulations Adam!

We've headed north this weekend to join John's family in celebration. Adam, John's younger brother, graduated yesterday from Sterling College; one of the smallest colleges in the country. They have a working farm, draft horses, graduated 14 people this year, and they promote an amazing sense of community. Everywhere we went yesterday we heard how much they love Adam and what a contribution he's been to their lives. It was great to hear (especially since we feel the same way!)



We had a great day - it started off with lunch in the dining hall/meeting room/biggest space on campus. Unfortunately, it started to pour and most of the days activities were outside. What to do? Why, a Ping Pong tournament, of course!



The rain cleared and we thought we were safe. We headed down to the barns and half-way there the sky opened up again. We dove for cover in a shed and listened as the hail slammed down on the tin roof. Finally it seemed like it would hold off for a bit and we made our way to the farm.

Being spring, there were a lot of baby animals; despite our efforts, Mary T and I couldn't convince her dad that he should want a baby goat. Then Adam introduced us to the draft horses.


Commencement was a lot of fun, and a great celebration of how different this place is from your average college. I spent the day feeling like I understood why Adam loved this place so much - they're his kind of people.

Adam was elected by the Class of 2009 to be one of two speakers at graduation. His speech was fantastic, and so ADAM! I did my best to capture it on my dinky camera (sorry for the pauses, it was saving...) and you can hear his own words about why he loves Sterling.

The Sterling College Class of 2009