Colder Weather

Well, fall has officially been here for almost 3 weeks, but the real fall weather seems to be on the way by this Thursday.  To some, the crisp air will be a welcome change from the humidity and heat that seemed to be constantly around for the past 4 months or so.  Others, though, will undoubtedly be wishing for just one more day to enjoy the pool, lake, pond, or amazing splash pad over at Franklin Park (or wherever their favorite spot might be).  I'll give you one guess as to which of those two realms I "fall" into.
The Zac Brown Band has a great song about "Colder Weather".  One of the lines simply says "I wanna see you again...but I'm stuck in colder weather".  At Vantage, it seems to be kind of the opposite sentiment.  As the weather gets colder, we start to see more and more of our recent graduates again.  Whether it be from their first tours of duty in the military (Thank You all for your service!), or on quarter break from college, or even on a rare day off from their new careers; we begin welcoming more and more into the building every year around this time (we prefer a call ahead, or for these visits to be before or after school, just to make sure these students can spend more quality time with the teachers they know and love). 
When these young men and women come back, it's such an awesome opportunity to catch up.  Mrs. Ellis and I are usually fortunate to be the first to welcome them back as they check in at the front office.  I truly enjoy hearing about how each is doing, where they are working, and what they've been up to since graduation.  Many times, the conversation brings up how Vantage has helped them in their current career, and sometimes they'll even share appreciation for the fact that Vantage was where they met the person they're spending the rest of their lives with.  Either way, we truly appreciate the opportunity to hear their stories and learn from them (trust me, we almost always learn something great). 
These visits are also a perfect reinforcement for our current students to see that what they are doing can (and will) pay off if they keep following the correct path.  Inevitably, when these graduates come back and talk to their former teachers, their successes will get back to the current students and can help provide motivation.  For example, a recent graduate stopped in a few weeks back driving his BRAND NEW vehicle (I won't mention the make and model, so as to not give this person's identity away, but it was a very nice vehicle), and several of our students noticed and asked about it.  It was a perfect opportunity to share how this particular student had just recently graduated from Vantage, and was using the exact skills he had learned from his program to earn the wage that helped pay for that car.  That's just one example of many where current students recognize the successes of former students.  Those little reminders of why students are here can provide a lot of motivation to continue pushing through the challenges they're sure to face while learning their trade and finishing high school.  It may seem small, but every positive example is another reason to keep working hard.
So, to ALL Vantage graduates, please continue sharing your successes.  Our current and future students will continue to benefit from every single one!  If you're a "not-so recent" graduate and would like to come back and see how much our building has changed over the years, please give us a call!  If you're a more recent graduate, please still give us a call and set up a time to come back and share what you've been doing!  And if you'd just like to share what the #vantagewill has done to positively impact your life, please continue to do so on whichever form of social media you might prefer.  As the colder weather approaches, these triumphs and accomplishments (from former and current students) will help provide the warmth we all need from time to time.