Be Somebody’s “Julian”

This is a guest blog from my amazing wife, Kim (@kimsigrist). She was inspired to write after our recent vacation.  She is an elementary school secretary, and she impacts just as many, if not more, students than I do every day. I’m proud of her for sharing. Enjoy!

 

The Riu Palace in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico was our family’s vacation destination this summer. The all-inclusive trip has become our favorite and this was an adventure to a new resort we had never visited. Upon our check-in at this beautiful oasis, we made our way to one of the restaurants for lunch.

The Riu Palace Pacifico

The Riu Palace Pacifico

As we approached the outdoor seating area, the biggest warm, welcoming smile stood as if he had been waiting for us all day. Julian grabbed our family up with that smile and oodles of charm and seated us for what would be the first of many meals with our new-found friend.

For the next five days, breakfast and lunch, Julian was there to greet us. His eyes would light as bright as the sun when he would see us approach. At breakfast he would ask us how we slept and at lunch he would ask how our day was going. He made our entire family feel special and would leave all of us with a hug when our meal was complete. We truly felt as if we were Julian’s favorite family on resort.

All of us on the beach before dinner.

All of us on the beach before dinner.

I’ve thought a lot about how Julian made us feel that week in July. I look forward to our next trip and suspect we will return to the Riu Palace, in large part because of Julian. As I begin my 10th year as an elementary secretary, I hope I can be a “Julian” to the students in our school. I want to be that warm, welcoming smile to not only our 390 students but their families as well. Maya Angelou gave us one of my favorite quotes, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
This will be a transition year for our school. Because of the construction of two new elementary schools, we will welcome many new students because of redistricting. On Thursday evening, those 50 or so new students will walk through our doors for the very first time. It is my hope that they will all receive a “Julian” welcome, not only from me, but from our entire staff, current students and families.

I challenge everyone in education, from administrators to the cooks in the cafeteria to be a “Julian” to your students this year. Create that environment that makes our students want to enter our doors every morning, where they know they are going to be greeted with that welcoming smile and those words that make them feel as if they are the favorite, most cared about kid in the school.

Julian shared with us that he has been a waiter at the Riu Palace for 8 years. He beamed when he told us that that Monday is his day off. I truly believe that Julian gets as much satisfaction and joy out of his interactions with his guests as we received from him. This is my hope that all of us have a “Julian” kind of year.

Julian and our family

Julian and our family

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