You’re about to attack an army of savage barbarians.

They stand 7 feet tall, are bloodthirsty and carry weapons far superior to yours. Oh yeah, and you’re outnumbered 3 to 1. But you’ve got to do it. If you don’t, they’re going to invade your village soon and destroy everything you love, including your family.

Standing on the shores of their land, you look back at your men who are all shaking in their boots. Each one of them being careful not stray too far from the boats as they await your command.

You’re grateful for those boats. They’re your safe haven. You can still turn back you know. You could also start the fight and run back to the boats if everything goes awry.

Suddenly you realize that you’re doomed to die unless you take decisive action as a leader. You walk over to the boats and burn them. Some of your men faint in a total panic; others begin splashing water on the boats to try and put the fire out.

But it’s no use. You’re stuck here.

Crap.
​
Now what? You’re men look at you with an eye of desperation and sheer dependence. The only thing to do now is march forward and find a way to make it work.

That's why we burn the boats when we land on the beach.
Because the only way out is through

You want to win at "doing" college. I want you do do well too. That’s why I’m here with you. But you’ll never win if you’re taking a half-baked approach.

If you’re going to build a legacy, set the standard, leave your mark - you need to burn the boats. .
It's pretty easy to bail out of a course (especially an "easy A" online course that no one even knows you signed up for). Easy to quit your job, not follow through with your commitments, or give up on a relationship.

In the moment, walking out is precisely the best short-term strategy. Sometimes this place is too hard, too unpleasant, too much...

The thing is, though, that the long-term strategy might be the opposite. The best long-term approach might be to learn something, to tough it out, to engage with the challenge. Because once you get through this, you'll be different. Better.

We always have a choice, but often, it's a good idea to act as if we don't.

The only thing to do now is march forward and find a way to make it work.

Earlier this week I pulled up interview photos of freshmen who had just taken their last final of the year. Looking at the faces of their younger selves reminded them of how much they had changed. Working in and studying Student Affairs, you learn about Arthur Chickering's Seven Vectors that theorize the "tasks" that students must go through while developing their identity. While I know that the students were taken aback by seeing their younger faces and remembering the day of the interview, I'm sure they did not think about third of Chickereing's vectors, movement through autonomy toward interdependence.

For traditional students, and even some non-traditional, college is as a sequence of developmental tasks and stages when biology and psychology  converge. It qualitatively changes thinking, feeling, behaving, valuing, and relating  to others and oneself (http://students.berkeley.edu/committees/bc/SAStudentDev.doc). ​

First Vector: Developing Competence.  
The three types of competence that college students develop:

• including intellectual, the ability to understand, analyze, and synthesize. 

• manual skills,  the ability to physically accomplish tasks

• interpersonal competences, working and establishing relationships with other

So let's talk about the first competency of the first vector...
​

If you're in college, moving through these vectors, wanting to develop and grow intellectually, you want to know:

What do the smart kids do?
​
Some think they are smart because of something deep inside of them called "intelligence" or "IQ" but people do not have "intelligence" stuffed somewhere inside their head making it easy for them to learn things. For most people, the difference between excelling and failing is almost entirely determined by what world you live in, and how you act in that world.

Most smart kids are smart because they live in a world where being smart works and being dumb doesn't. If you want to be smart too, you should spend as much time as possible in that sort of world. Be surrounded by the right kind of people and avoid the wrong kind of distractions, and you will start to reflect the world you are part of.

4) They talk to their friends and family about what they are learning in school.
If you do not want to spend some of your free time talking about school, you are doing something wrong. How is it that smart kids get in so many hours of studying? Some lock themselves in their room, true. But many just have friends who like to talk about school. In college you have new-found freedom to learn about things you want. Join a club that has to do with your major. Approach professors after class. Find ways to talk about the stuff you are learning in class with other people who are trying to learn the same thing. 
​

5) They understand that different courses require different types of studying. 
Smart kids know every course isn't the same. In college, you will need to adjust to many different professors who have different ways of running their class and different ways of evaluating your accomplishment. This is just like in real life! (Except substitute "boss" for "professor.") You should try to determine how class is run, and how you will be graded, and plan your studying accordingly. Ask other Terry Scholars. Learn about faculty before you can sign up for classes.

There were classes where I never read the book and classes where I always read before class - and I was an English major! The type of studying that lets you have a meaningful in class discussion and write a good essay is different than the type of studying that lets you fill out a factual multiple choice test. And by the way, if you are in a class that grades with essays... don't expect to do well if you were not keeping up with the discussions.
 
Your Part of the Deal
Don't be another student who expects class time to be wasted doing what you should be doing outside of class. It is your responsibility to become part of the wider campus community. It is your responsibility to be actively present in class. It is your responsibility to arrange your life so you can get out-of-class work done. It is your responsibility to bounce ideas and thoughts off of those around you. It is your responsibility to study and show up to class prepared, whatever that is in each class.

References
Psychology Today

Hours ago Lubbock Police Department (LPD) Chief Stevens help a press conference discussing Lubbock's support of the Dallas Police Department. He started by talking about the kinds of “unparalleled” people that we have here in Lubbock, saying he doesn’t know anywhere else that has it this good. He attributed that to the fact that we support each other and work together as a community. Watch here
 
As a community of Terry Scholars, we have it good too. We work together and we support each other. One of our community needs some support. Mike Ruiz, a 2014 Transfer Scholar, is a member of the LPD. This morning Officer Ruiz said it was an emotional day for the department as they mourn, reassess, and plan. As the day went on, people from the community came to the station to drop off items showing their support. The briefing room tables were quickly covered with cookies, doughnuts, flowers – outward symbols of community support.

As a Terry family we have supported Officer Ruiz as he pursues his bachelors, explores study abroad, supports a wife who is in Medical School, and raises a family. We have helped and encouraged him as he pursues his educational goals. Achieving those goals will make him a better officer, a stronger civil servant, and a more compassionate leader. We continue to support him on campus and in uniform.

by Thomas Kay

​“For all its enormous range of space, climate, and physical appearance, and for all the internal squabbles, contentions, and strivings, Texas has a tight cohesiveness perhaps stronger than any other section of America. Rich, poor, Panhandle, Gulf, city, country, Texas is the obsession, the proper study, and the passionate possession of all Texans.” This quote by John Steinbeck really encapsulates the true essence of being a Texan. Where did this pride come from? Where did this obsession start? To answer this, you must first look to the year 1823.

In 1823, Stephen F. Austin received a grant to begin colonization along the Brazos River. In the next 6 to 7 years, Texas became a place synonymous with adventure, prosperity, and a chance for a new life. Eventually, the Mexican government and immigrant relations grew tense and Texans began the process of leaving Mexico. Now, as any Texan knows, in 1835 The Battle of Gonzales known for the phrase, “Come and Take It,” started the Texas Revolution. This war immortalized men such as Sam Houston, Davey Crockett, William B. Travis, and Juan Seguin. It also gave rallying cries that Texans remember, even today, like, “Remember the Alamo!”
​
This revolution was only the beginning of the identity that defines Texas. The spirit of adventure and endless possibilities has been shown throughout the years from the age of cowboys, to the oil booms, even the influx of technology and the opportunities brought forth today. I love this state. I love the fact that there is an unspoken bond that Texans share with one another. I end with this quote from Conrad Hilton, for those who may have forgetten what the spirit of Texas, and being a Texan, is all about. “There’s a vastness here and I believe that the people who are born here breathe that vastness into their soul. They dream big dreams and think big thoughts, because there is nothing to hem them in.” 

​My wife still finds it amusing that sixteen years after immigrating to the United States, barring Independence Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, I have absolutely zero ability to recall in which months our national holidays lay. And while in some ways while I do feel a little guilty for not making the effort to commit such important dates to memory, dull ignorance paves it way to unearned dividends year after year in the form of surprise days-off, and that’s just fine by me!
 
Notwithstanding my historic obliviousness there actually is one national holiday I do remember, and quietly cherish. Washington’s Birthday.
 
Now before many of you dismiss my best foreign attempts to get into the U.S. spirit of things by saying, “don’t you mean President’s Day?” – Actually no, the official federal holiday on the third Monday each February (as enacted for all Washington D.C. offices by congress in 1879 and then expanded to all federal offices nationally in 1885) was initially implemented only to celebrate the birthday of George Washington. Not until the subsequent revision of 1885 was the holiday designed to recognize and remember all presidents. The general expansion of the holiday’s name to President’s Day is a reflection that this day now doubles as a state holiday in nearly all states.
 
I enjoy President’s day especially because while it was designed to recognize the efforts and achievements of a single person holding a single office, to me, the underlying sentiment of this holiday is a true celebration of leadership, and that - in my opinion, is a virtue.
 
Many people around the world may argue that the American presidency is demonstrative of power and absolution, and one would be foolish to not recognize the sheer authority of the office. But I also believe the seal of our president is synonymous with absolute resolve, unfadable integrity, and the summited achievement of servant leadership. And those ideals are something that I think we all, as Terry Scholars, can both be thankful for and appreciate.
 
So next time you see or hear that President’s Day is coming around, I encourage you to not do as most do (myself included) and think, “Awesome TV sales!” Instead, I urge you to pause for a moment and remember that the third Monday of the shortest month is beset with an opportunity to recognize outstanding contributions, by outstanding people, to an outstanding nation. 

Yesterday the Terry's gathered in the Student Union Building for their first Leadership Speaker Series to hear from their guest, Chancellor Duncan, on the qualities and attributes that create a good leader. The Terry's were also joined by Delta Sigma Pi, the professional business fraternity.  The Leadership Speakers Series presents the opportunity for distinguished leaders of the university to impart their wisdom and experiences on the up-and-coming leaders of this day. It is a time for the Terry's, along with invited guests, to grow and learn from individuals who have paved the way. Chancellor Duncan was very gracious in making time in his schedule to speak to the students, and answering a multitude of questions that were presented to him.

My name is Vincent Shoup, I am a 2013 Scholar entering my third year at Tech. I am from Lamesa, Texas, a small town an hour south of Lubbock. I am a nutrition/Pre-Dental major with minors in Biology and Chemistry. I am employed on campus in the admissions office as well as involved in a few organizations. I am serving as Treasurer for the Terry Scholars this coming year, a member and service chair of Beta Upsilon Chi/Brothers Under Christ Fraternity, a member of President's Select, and a member of Hillside Christian Church. When I'm not working or studying, I enjoy spending time with friends and family doing something outside or watching movies. 

My name is Micah Nehring. I am from Waco, Texas. I am a Pre-Nursing and business management major. I plan to go on to earn a Master’s degree and become a Nurse Practitioner. In the future, I would like to travel and practice medicine here in the US as well as abroad. I am currently a member of Alpha Lambda Delta and Phi Eta Sigma Honor Societies , Health Occupations Students of America, Pre-Nursing Association and the Honors College. Also, I am the Vice President for the Best Buddies Organization.

I am so grateful to the Terry Foundation for all their support and the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful family. I look forward to meeting the new Terry Scholars in the years to come and expect great things from those before me. I look forward to the coming years here in Lubbock. I am hear to listen or help any of my fellow Terry Scholars in any way I can. 

Wreck ‘em!