From a speech delivered by Peter Miller ’10 at the 2010 scholarship and donor brunch.

It is truly a gift to honor student success, engaged scholarship, and active citizenship knowing that each of these simple components is intertwined in my own story. This is a story about how simple gifts transform a community into a simple reality.

For most of us, though, turning someone’s simple gift into a simple reality is not an easy process. Simple gifts are not easy gifts, but they are simple. Let me explain.

When I was a child, I used to love to listen to my mom play the dulcimer. She would play this old Shaker hymn while my brother and I would run around in the yard. Whenever I hear it, it still shakes me up and makes me want to dance and appreciate how precious life is. The hymn is called “Simple Gifts.” Continue reading “Simple gifts” →