Dear all,
The sun has set on the UK and the grounds of Pembroke College, Oxford are marvellously calm and stunningly quiet.
What a contrast to earlier today, as the air was full with the tromping of deliberate feet, the clanking of suitcases, and the laughter and the sobbing of now-fast friends cherishing their remaining hours and minutes together in the Oxford Tradition.
Then they left, all now at home (or to those with a longer journey or later start, en route) to you. They arrive changed by their time here, perhaps a bit more smart, a lot more intellectually curious, undoubtedly more independent, maybe more socially comfortable, and certainly more culturally aware.
They have spent the past week immersed in the culminating activities of their courses of study and fully and actively supporting their fellow students by watching raptly or cheering wildly for them in a plethora of projects, presentations, exhibitions and events. This was all capped by the the final loud and delicious closing banquet, the stirring closing ceremony (with a long ovation for their collective faculty), and the stay-up-late (and all-night for many) closing formal event, done up in proper Oxford style with lighted grounds, big marquee, and a Hall of delights. I know you wish you were there ..and you can be, virtually, with one last look at this Blog.
As this four-week institution now dissipates like the morning mist, I invite you to direct any questions to the New York office of Oxbridge Academic Programs, as we, like your children, segue back into “reality”, with the promise that, as so passionately framed by Dr. James Basker in his address Friday evening to the students, the real world too can be just like this. I know it can for, as I related to the students last night, for at least this moment they were grounded in the tangible, the present, the real, here in Oxford, at Pembroke College, sharing experiences with their mentors and friends– and since it was tangible, present and real, it will be in their minds and in their hearts with them always.
Thank you for lending us your children for four weeks –they are remarkably interesting, delightfully fun, and extraordinarily kind.
With the hope for much joy in your lives,
Best,
Larry Klein
Program director
the Oxford Tradition
