Difference Makers

I ran the Zion Ragnar Trail Relay this last weekend. Unfortunately, I drew the lot to run the long eight-mile loop at 3:30 in the morning. To make matters worse, I awoke to the sound of a steady rain on the tent roof. During the course of the next three hours, the rain turned to snow and the dirt trails turned to mud. More than once, I found myself struggling in the pitch black to climb muddy hills that offered no traction whatsoever. The task seemed impossible, but, giving up seemed equally impossible.

While in this pickle, I met up with a couple of other runners who were in the same boat as I was. We stuck together and, repeatedly, resorted to crawling up the muddy hills on our hands and knees. We literally pushed and pulled one another up those hills. Looking back at the experience now, I’m convinced those other runners were the difference makers in my getting back to safety.

I can’t help but feel the faculty and staff here at Armstrong are similar to that support group I found in the middle of the night on the Ragnar course. No matter what has been dealt them, they never despair, and they consistently push and pull themselves, their colleagues, and their students up those slippery slopes. Whether during teacher appreciation week or any other time, they deserve to be honored as the “difference makers.”