Second-Order Change

Dear Professor Larry:

Hello. I hope all is well. I hope you are keeping cool in this hot and humid weather.

I write this to mark a milestone. This week I turned 32. This week is different, because I have begun to understand how magical life is, despite the hardships and struggles. I can walk more than half a mile. I can meet up with friends for mocha frappuccino with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle for caffeine hit, house special pan fried noodles for long life, crispy flounder with walnuts for good health, and frozen yogurt ice cream for bliss and wonder. After the trauma of spine surgery, food is delicious again. Laughter is heard again. Hugs are felt again. Even then, I learn how I, just like everyone else, can change the world – this lesson from Organizational Dynamics at Penn. So for my birthday, I wish to make an effort to create Second Order change that transforms “functions” and “relationships” within myself, and within the active space that I move between.

At 32, I am grateful for a second chance at a quality life, and the power to make a difference to those who have given up. I am grateful for knowledge and skills mobilized by the Penn experience, both in education and in health care. I have benefitted from an envelope-wide system that has supported me wholistically. This is the reason why I push forward. I stay strong. I take the small step that leads to a big leap, and I go.

I would like you to know that my Penn experience would not have been possible if not for the following people:

1) Alan Barstow – He reached out and called me up in the hospital to wish me well for my surgery. His concern for students’ well-being is sincere and honest. I saw this every time he cheered for my achievements in physical therapy and rehabilitation. He sat down and listened with an open ear and an open mind about the things that interest and concerned me. Now, because of his recent experience, we share an understanding of how valuable life is. We understand that pain and discomfort remind us that we are alive.

2) Dana Kaminstein – I thank him for his insightful comments and feedback for my papers. He takes his role seriously and gives his 100% to the vocation he has taken on. He taught me to put meat and kick in my expression. As a writer, I appreciate this as it is an opportunity to grow and extend myself. As a patient in recovery, I appreciate the flowers he sent to the hospital room, and the good wishes and thoughts sent by him and his wife.

3) Janet Greco – I owe to Janet my ability to see overarching themes and connect seemingly disjointed points into a coherent story. Because of her, I am able to use metaphors and stories as I try to implement change in what is routine and ordinary. Janet allowed me the opportunity to express a personal narrative that challenges the myth of the circus freak into a heroic character sitting at the back of a motorcycle moving at the speed of a song, leather jacket closed, helmet on.

4) Nancy Bauer – Nancy inspires me to take the gauntlet and tear down strongholds that say no. She moves my spirit and my mind with self-knowledge and confidence that allows me to speak and face others, as equal, as partner, as Sara. She encourages me to open up the box that always kept me separate from those around me.

5) Bill Wilkinsky – It is with a humble and grateful voice that I say that I survived surgery and the difficult stage of recovery because of Bill. Bill taught me two specific lessons that kept me determined to win over my frail and broken body: authenticity and unconditional positive regard. He saw me take my first thirty steps. He cheered me in physical therapy, gave me a prize for every achievement in exercise, and taught me that healing begins when I begin to reach out to other people who are broken and frail, too. Bill maybe ruff and gruff, but his commitment to each student’s welfare and future achievement is legendary. To combat the hallucinations from morphine, anaesthesia, and painkillers that took control over my mind, Bill has provided structure and sanity that now makes me walk half a mile.

My journey at Penn and my bigger journey of life are soaked with meaning and purpose because of these five professors. I thank you for making them a part of Organizational Dynamics at Penn. I wish that other students know them the way I had. I wish that there will always be opportunities for these professors to realize Second Order change in the lives of future members of Organizational Dynamics.

Thank you for allowing me to express myself on my birthday. I greet you a beautiful and warm summer’s day where the sun and the shadow swirl in this dance that only happens in Penn.

Regards,

Sara

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