There comes a time, when you see yourself at some sort of crossroads. A crossroads in which you know you are supposed to be doing one thing, or maybe you think you are supposed to be doing one thing but instead are spending time doing another. And you're in a place but you don't necessarily know if you are in the 100% correct place. But then again, if we consider life a holistic journey..I'm not quite sure we are ever supposed to be in 100% correct place for a reason. Regardless, there are people placed on this earth who naturally encourage others to find their crossroads and to conquer them. They ignite passion. They ask questions. They deepen your thinking just by speaking and often we may even feel a bit wiser in their presense. I call these people the crossroad keepers. 

And I met one today. I arrived back to The Fitgerald Fieldhouse today where I graduated four years ago, to celebrate the amazing accomplishment of my future sister-in-law who graduated with her Masters in Educational Leadership today. The familiarity of it was all too real: the robes, the decorated hats, the smiles, the cheers and family members and faculty (old and new.) Hard to believe four years have gone by already. But there was a passion in the air that I have not felt in a long time. 

Sitting in the seats of The Field House today, I felt again like a little kid. Like the little kid I was before I entered into the classroom, before I had responsibilities or knew realities or even before I ended up in the school district I am currently in. Like that little kid who taught Summer Academy for the first time at Summerbridge and had a dream for the first time to create equity. And it takes a visionary to make us feel like that. To bring us back to that childhood place where we were certain all dreams were possible and that we could make a difference for all children. And we can. Dr. Valerie Kinloch and her words brought me back to that place of innocence. A dean now for just two years, she has managed to very visibly inspire students, encourage faculty and create a mission statement that, in my opinion, represents the heart of what educational equity is all about. 

The new mission statement of the Pitt School of Education reads in brief: We ignite learning. We teach. We advocate. We work for justice. We think. We dream. We lead with integrity. We are the School of Education at Pitt.

There were multiple times today where I felt myself brought to tears. And I cannot quite explain it. Tears when I saw my friend graduate. Tears when the visionary said her speech. Tears when I watched the little girl (about two or three years at most) clap with her tiny hands as she watched her dad graduate with his Philosophy in Education Degree. Tears when the dean had the integrity and the decency to recognize the graduate students who had spent such a large chunk of their time researching about various equity and social justice problems that continue to exist in education. A pride I have not felt in a while. To be a part of a place, a school, as an alumni that cares so deeply about equity and justice. Igniting learning. Teaching. Advocating. And Dreaming.

Sometimes you are brought back in time. Just once. To rethink your values and your missions. To remind yourself of what you stand for, what you wish to stand for and how you plan on getting there. Sometimes we are in a place or in a space for such an amount of time where we sometimes forget that work for justice. The side of us that dreams. The side of us that thinks. And those crossroad keepers help us to find that space again.

Because we are all visionaries. Just that sometimes those visions become muddled in the everday life race. Never truly forgotten. Always rekindled with the reminder of a crossroads. If you ever find yourself stagnant just remember this: you have the power to change where you are. What you stand for. And where you are going. Remember your vision. Find those crossroad keepers. Because sometimes it is those innocent, child-like dreams that remain the strongest part of who we are. Those parts that never truly go away. Those parts that are just waiting for you to ignite them on our new journey that lies ahead. For sometimes our contemplation and dreams of what lies ahead is far greater than anything we have left behind.

Thanks to the leaders and crossroad keepers that are fighting to create justice, love and a passion for education in all people. This is to you.