KT,
SevBeanz and I wrote this in honor of you, for the Karsten Tindal Leadership award given to an outstanding student in the Sports Product Management Program (SPM). Little did you realize your impact would be forever and you would stand on both sides of time, with us and others. You would have been 33. So, it has been another year, and yet today remains like yesterday, when you were with us and now you are gone, past and present, two sides of time.
Like time, recognition is two-sided, a word defining life now and beyond: It is a bi-polar, two-handed word. On the one hand, it represents passing familiarity from the past, fleeting and even superficial. Done in an instant, reference to the past, and the present takes over. On the other hand, recognition can be and needs to be deeper: to honor and recognize someone, not because of superficial and familiar qualities, but because of outstanding traits. This latter kind of recognition bends the past to the present and foretells the future. It is based on broad brush strokes of life, not simple elements. This kind of recognition cannot be requested, but is proffered by others, often in unison, which is rare these days with discord everpresent in our lives.
The Karsten Tindal Leadership award also has two sides. Leadership is conferred for perseverance in the presence of obstacles, for assurance with ambiguity everywhere, and particularly for integrity as the guidepost, even though meandering opportunities avail. These two sides of leadership make a difference for others, a just noticeable difference, irrespective of the opportunity for recognition.
You were famous for your attributes, some of which have two sides:
• Sports and life are the same word spelled differently.
• Respect and listening are two sides of the same coin.
• Just let me show you what I can do. It’ll surprise us both.
The two sides of this celebration were of the program and a person. And so, another student received a leadership award in honor of you, KT, the past and the present, recognizing time in its relentless move forward. Yet, your attributes have remained steadfast, reminding us that recognition can be an anchor for us, and that your presence is still here on your 33rd birthday.
Your brief, but powerful life, resonates with us every day on both sides of time.
JT, Mama Lama, and Sev-Beanz