Greetings Harvard Extension School alums,
First and foremost, thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve you as the governance director of our alumni association. My gratitude to the institution is great but my respect for you is even greater. Through my five years as an HES student and now five years as a teaching assistant I have come to know HES graduates as smart, hard-working individuals passionate about the world and their communities. I am proud to be among those whose alma mater is the Harvard Extension School.
I found HES while in the late stages of my professional career. Although my life’s circumstances did not afford me the opportunity for a traditional academic path, I always knew that it was something I would come back to. HES offered me the chance to fill that void with the highest quality program in the flexible delivery model that my circumstances required. When I completed my ALB in 2019, at the age of fifty-eight, I became the first generation in my family to graduate from college. Giving the student commencement address with my wife, three children, and grandson in the front row is a memory that I will cherish forever. After completing my ALM in 2021 I was excited to continue my relationship with the institution by helping others on the journey that I had completed as a teaching assistant. This semester I will complete my fourteenth course as a TA and in the spring my first as an instructor. Helping HES students accomplish their academic goals is a privilege that I will always be grateful for.
I welcome the chance to further contribute to the HES community as the governance director of our alumni association. Governance refers to the processes and structures an organization uses to direct and manage its operations and activities effectively. Improving the effectiveness of an organization dedicated to serving such a deserving and accomplished population as Extension School alumni is an inspiring cause. My hope is that, together with my fellow board members, we will develop a deep understanding of the value the association can bring to the institution and our members and deliver that value through strategic initiatives aligned with that mission. You will be the judge of our collective success or failure. Please don’t be shy about letting us know how we are doing.
In closing, please accept my sincere gratitude for all that you do and for trusting my fellow board members and me with our association. You are what makes HES special and unique. I know from my time with many of you as a peer student, and now as a TA, and soon to be an instructor the incredible things you do every day in support of your families, communities, and the greater society. Collectively we are an incredible force for good in the world. You inspire me and give me hope in a world where hope is sometimes in short supply.
With gratitude,
Don Parker
ALB 2019, ALM 2021
Governance Director of the Harvard Extension Alumni Association
donald_parker@fas.harvard.edu
