Category: Inspiration

  • Hi! I’m Kat

    (borrowed from Mimi’s 50th reunion web page)

    BS, Early Childhood/Elementary Education/Special Needs, Wheelock College of Education & Human DevelopmentUniversity of New Mexico 1983 (MA, Special Education with a Major in Gifted Education)University of New Mexico 1999 (DEd, Administration and Supervision/Organizational Development)

    Partner/Spouse

    Bob Richter-Sand

    What I’m up to now

    Retired
    Living in Albuquerque, NM
    Grew up in Cheltenham, PA

    Residence(s)

    Peabody Hall

    Organizations

    Wheelock Glee Club

    Wheelock Family Theatre

    My journey…

    Since graduation, I’ve lived in Pittsburgh, PA, Idaho Falls, ID, and Albuquerque, NM. Each location allowed me to teach–first at a private elementary and then in public schools. I enjoyed connecting with peers through participation in multiple programs of study at several universities. My deepest opportunities arose within the field of gifted education classrooms in Albuquerque Public Schools, and later, as a Professional Staff Developer working with peers in collegial teams to support educational administrators and principals with reflective and outcome-based best practices in teaching.

    Over the course of my career, I was fortunate to be a recipient of several Rockefeller Foundation grants, a New Mexico Public Education Department grant for bringing artists into the schools to work with teachers, American Educational Research Foundation (AERA) academic grants, and a Fulbright Educational Grant that sent me to Japan and connected my group of educators to many Japanese schools, labs, writers/poets, artists, and politicians. Upon my return to the US, this honor enabled me to serve as a host teacher for yearly Japanese cultural interns who came to the US to share, with students, their traditional crafts, music, language, and brushwork for Kanji characters.

    Retirement has provided me with time to write and occasionally publish, and a renewed dedication to wheel-thrown porcelain in the Japanese Arita method, gardening, photography, travel, and tackling the process of learning to paint with soft pastels. While each of these passions has their own purpose and benefits, aviation is truly something I’d always thought was out of reach in my own life. In our years together, my husband Bob became a licensed Sport Pilot, and I’ve taken over 200 hours of flight instruction. We ended up ordering a Kitfox airplane kit in 2011 and built its parts from the frame out; this included the body, wings, electronics, engine, radios, the tail number registration, and execution of a paint design! It took six dedicated years, start to finish, before Bob was able to test-fly the Kitfox SuperSport 7, a 2-seater Light Sport Aircraft, under the ‘wing’ of his CFI and fellow pilots. Once it passed FAA flight-worthy certification, we began flying together after Bob accrued 40 hours of solo flight testing to ensure his knowledge and performance of the plane in multiple conditions. Sadly, I had to discontinue my own flight training due to medical reasons, but it is still a wonder to understand this world and the passion of its fellow aviators. One of my favorite views is from the passenger/co-pilot side of our cockpit, capturing many unique geological features from the altitude of 3000+ ft AGL.

    My husband Bob and I currently have two beautiful whippets, one of them (out of two service dogs I trained) still alerting me to dropping glucose levels. It’s a beautiful circle in terms of the deep relationships we’ve had over 40 years with this special breed.

    Bob (MIT, 1976) and I have two grown kids–Erica and Matt–both of whom live in southern CA with their own families. It’s very nice to visit, and just as nice to get home and recover from the cacophony of four rambunctious (but wonderful) grandchildren, too!

    Looking forward to our special 2026 reunion activities and reconnecting with BU Wheelock alum!

    My friends…

    Hola, mi amigas! @Angela Yakovleff @Bonnie Page @Margaret Webb @Regina Bachini @Carla Uribe @Brita Josephson @Daria O’Connor @Dolores Testa @Elaine Allen @Caroline Imbrie @Gayle Goldberg @Marianne Chellgren @Mary Mason @Nora Richards @Karen Ezzi @Diane Thompson @Nancy Alvanas and others I recall so well!

    When I wasn’t in class you could find me…

    hanging out to draw and paint in Wheelock’s beautiful ART STUDIO!

    in the library!

    working in the Peabody Dorm kitchen!

    in the student center for snacks and meeting friends!

    walking to Coolidge Corner!

    Favorite memories…

    I LOVED being in Glee Club. Rehearsals and practices helped me work hard to learn new pieces. And being a huge part of the Wheelock Family Theatre’s productions was AMAZING.

    I loved Marcia Folsom and Joan Thornton, also Dr. Struthers!

    Can we plan to see you at the reunion?

    Attending Reunion

    Kat, Bob, beside Kitfox N104 Yankee
    Family reunion in NM, Nov 2025
    Kat and Bob, Mar 2026, Monument Valley
  • Pre

    Pre

    Steve “Pre” Prefontaine was one of the greatest runners of all time. He had epic quotes that inspired me all my life. Here are a few:

    To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.

    It’s not who’s the best – it’s who can take the most pain.

    “Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.”

    “I do it because I can, I can because I want to, I want to because you said I couldn’t.”

    I’m going to work so that it’s a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it.

    A lot of people run a race to see who is the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more.

  • I’ll do it “Some day”

    I’ll do it “Some day”

    Some day is not a day of the week. Saying you’re going to do something “some day” isn’t a plan and it isn’t realistic. When I hear “some day” I hear “never going to happen.” If you want something, don’t talk about some day. Pick a day and put it on the calendar and get it done.

    In other words:

    A goal is a dream with a deadline.

    -Napoleon Hill

  • Stories You Can Tell

    Stories You Can Tell

    Life moves quickly. Years can slip by unnoticed. Unless you are consciously pushing yourself, you may find with regret that you have squandered some of the best years of your life.

    I try to imagine myself at 80, hanging out with my grandkids. What stories will I tell? What life did I live? Imagining that makes me want to take advantage of the time I have now as a younger man to live the life that’s worth telling in the future.

    A slightly different idea in the same vein: I have a recurring reminder on my calendar: Goal setting for what it will make of you to achieve it. Set your goals big so the journey improves

    Don’t let the years go by in unremarkable routine. Do crazy things. Take risks. Have fun. Make memories. Create stories. Life your life so you have great stories that you’re proud of in the end.

    Here are some good quotes capturing this idea:

    “The memories of a man in his old age; Are the deeds of a man in his prime.” – Roger Waters, Pink Floyd

    “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write something worth reading or do things worth writing.” – Benjamin Franklin

  • What’s the worst that can happen?

    What’s the worst that can happen?

    This is a great thing to ask yourself when you’re a little nervous to move forward with something.

    Thinking about asking a guy/girl on a date, but scared to ask? What’s the worst that can happen? He/she says no… That’s not too bad.

    Want to start a business but can’t take the leap? What’s the worst that can happen? It doesn’t work out and you have to go back to your job (never burn bridges)….

    You will often find that the answer isn’t that scary when you ask yourself “What’s the worst that can happen?” Think about the downside and you’ll see it probably isn’t that bad.

    Conversely, you can also ask “What’s the best that can happen?” Think about the upside. Usually, you’ll find that the upside dramatically outweighs the downside. Yes, asking that guy/girl out may mean you get shot down. But it might also lead to your first date with your future spouse. Little downside, huge upside. Go for it!

    Hopefully this helps you push forward and do the things that you really want to do in your life.

  • Pop Pop

    Pop Pop

    [vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” overlay_strength=”0.3″ shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_link_target=”_self” column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]Pop Pop was my grandfather, and he was one of the biggest influences in my life.

    He was always there for me. He spent a lot of time with me. He always advised me and helped as much as he could. And he always believed in me.

    I have so many stories about him that I’m not sure where to start:

    • Always shook my hand and squeezed HARD! He could aways out-squeeze me until I got to college…
    • He was quite a lucky man. He always seemed to be the guy to win the raffle or catch the foul ball. One time he took me on a road trip to Corpus Cristi for a deep sea fishing trip. I was motion sick for most of the trip, and he caught the biggest fish and won something like $1000 along with it. I still have the foul ball he caught at a Phillies game signed by Chico Ruiz.
    • Laughing was his super power. He was always laughing and telling great jokes. He could literally entertain a party for the better part of 45 minutes with one joke after another. He did this with my new in-laws when Lily and I first got married. He was on fire, entertaining everyone with the best jokes.
    • I was struggling with baseball and he was the first person to realize that my eyes were bad. We went to the optometrist and sure enough – I needed glasses.
    • When I was 8 or 9 playing basketball, he signed me up for a basketball camp. Then he showed me how to get inside and throw elbows at the opposing players!
    • He was always changing things up in his life. He would get a new car every few years. He would grow his hair out, grow his beard out, etc.
    • He went skydiving when he turned 80 years old!
    • Dogs always had an extraordinary amount of affection for him.
    • We had a great COVID road trip back to ABQ from FL.

    Interviews:[/vc_column_text][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/oZpnQjPYU9o”][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/YvHwgVyFbPs”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Always, Your Mimi

    Always, Your Mimi

    Dear kids,

    I’ve been wanting to share some thoughts about things that have made (my) life beautiful because some of them are simple yet able to help you feel amazingly happy and peaceful, or even sometimes excited, when things get tough.

    I have only to look into my earliest memories to see pictures that have attached themselves inside of me and carried me forward through many challenges. So many wonders that have made a difference…

    Sing, hum, find your passion, and abandon yourself fully to the power & beauty of art that surrounds you—music, paintings, sculpture, buildings, gardens, stories and more…

    Laugh at anything silly that lightens your heart, especially when shared with a special friend…

    Take time to listen to someone you really care about so deeply that you realize, in that moment, that nothing else matters and your own troubles are small…

    Look around you and find something that brings you JOY, a smile, and a sense of wonder…

    For me, it’s the simple but profound things that touch and move me forward… a sunset, a sky sparkling with stars, my dog’s eyes looking into and trusting mine, sitting with friends around a campfire—or anywhere, really, and fireflies lighting the summer nights like blips of warm light.

    Treasure the special moments and people that help make you YOU, and you will light the world brighter than anything you can imagine!

    Always,

    Your Mimi

  • Your Choices Determine Your Future

    Your Choices Determine Your Future

    Your life and what you get out of it is not determined by what you want. It is determined by the choices you make.

  • Regrets

    Regrets

    “Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around.”

    You can use your regrets as fuel. If you didn’t do your best with something, or you regret the way you handled the situation, you can fix it and turn it all around.

    When graduating from high school, we were seated by GPA. Highest GPAs were sitting in the front, and all of my friends were in the front row. I was sitting about 1/3 back in the audience. I was so disappointed with myself that I resolved to do my very best academically in college. I used this regret from high school to fuel my performance in college.

    When you find yourself regretting something, turn your attention to the future. Don’t get mad about what happened in the past, which you can’t change. Instead, figure out what you can do to turn that regret into pride as you fix your mistakes and do it right the next time around.

    Also: “Don’t cheat yourself by not giving it your all.” -Rich Leonard

     

  • Destiny

    Destiny

    One of my all-time favorite quotes:

    “Destiny is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”

    -William Jennings Bryan