At yesterday’s Board of Trustees’ meeting, I referred to the library as “the heart of the college.” During a recent national meeting, community colleges were called “the heart of higher education.” Teams can play “with heart” or without it. You might find yourself in the “heart of the city” or the “heart of the country.” And, we all know that you “gotta have heart.”
When strong, our hearts swell with pride and fill with joy. When weak, they contract and shrink—like the Grinch’s heart that was famously “two sizes too small.” When excited, they beat wildly and leap into our throats; and when in love, two hearts can become one. As e. e. cummings wrote, “i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart).”
But as important as our hearts are, they are not unbreakable. In poetry, a broken heart is poignant and lovely. In life, a broken heart can be deadly. Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women: 1 in 4 deaths are attributable to heart disease. Yet, we can change these odds.
That is why, on April 12, many of MCC’s hearts will be walking. Our American Heart Association Team is led by Jeff Bartkovich and Eileen Scorgie, and I join them in encouraging you to learn more about what you can do to support the fight against heart disease and improve the health of your heart. You might start by walking with MCC’s team on Saturday or by participating in MCC’s Eat Well/Live Well program or by getting in your 10,000 steps a day or simply educating yourself about the warning signs of a heart attack.
Your hearts warm our college and inspire our students, MCC. Keep them healthy!
And feel free to comment here.
Anne M. Kress
President's Office
04/09/2014 |