Published in The Other Press on November 4, 2014
In the Fall of 2012, I had one of the most delightful, eclectic classes at Douglas College: a night public speaking class, CMNS 1125. I had approached that class feeling ambivalent, yet hopeful. Hoping for participation from tired students, hoping for interest in the course content, hoping for a sense of community among classmates, and hoping for patience with each other. At the end of the semester, I got that and more. I came away with an indelible mark that those students imprinted on me because of their lives and their stories. They were all memorable, but I will highlight only one student: the late Jordan Kornberger.
Jordan Kornberger was the guy who loved baseball and used every speech opportunity to show us just how much he loved the game. Everyone in that class knew it. He lived, breathed, and dreamed baseball.
In the very first class when students had to give self-introductions, he introduced himself with his baseball glove. I had asked students to introduce themselves by defining who they were, and he introduced himself saying, “I f***ing love baseball!” With that, all heads spun around to look at me.