Friday, February 04, 2011

The great Dylan update

Dylan is well underway into his second semester at Kwantlen. This semester he has all the same music classes as before, but now he's taking Business Essentials instead of English. He did well grade-wise, netting a 3.77 GPA.

He's still working at Panago Pizza. They gave him a regular schedule, which is very nice for him. He works Friday and Sunday evening and all day Saturday...14 hours/week...which is the perfect schedule for earning some pocket and gas money without disrupting his studies. He did tell them that he'd be quitting in May as he's going to go back to Thunderbird for the summer. They were disappointed but they seemed to understand that he's got to make hay while the sun shines. He's not going to earn a year's worth of expenses working 14 hours/week at $8/hour! He wouldn't mind going back to that job during the school year; hopefully Panago will hire him back.

He attended a very fancy schmancy dinner last month that Kwantlen hosted for all their scholarship donors and recipients. Dylan was impressed with the dinner and the speaker they had afterward. The next week as he was reading one of his textbooks there was the name and picture of that speaker! It doesn't look like Dylan will get another $5000 scholarship for next year, as those are reserved for people just entering Kwantlen. But I'm very hopeful that he'll get some award. And he still has the $2000 scholarships he won while in highschool, so he'll be fairly close to covering his school expenses. He created a budget for 2011 that balances, so as long as he earns what he projects and spends just what he plans on spending, he'll be all set. It would be wonderful for him to get through his first two years of university with no debt.

Today he took Sean to Jazz band at Poppy and stayed and played with the band. That's so much fun for him...and for the other trumpet players in the band. One of Sean's friend told me after the last time Dylan played at their rehearsal, "I play so much better when Dylan is there." I guess you can play more confidently when you have someone to follow. After jazz rehearsal, Dylan stayed and helped teach Band 9. Mr. Ablitt let him conduct, which is a great experience for Dylan. I hope he continues to take advantage of this music program that's right around the corner, who has a teacher who is willing to let Dylan help in any capacity he wants!

Haley is doing well in her Grade 12 year. She is focusing on getting a paralegal certificate when she graduates highschool. So she's busy setting up school interviews and figuring out which school will be the best for her. Her senior prom is coming up in May; she and Dylan didn't go to his prom so they're looking forward to having a great time at this one. She's still working at Shopper's Drug Mart and baseball will start up pretty soon here. I'm not sure how she'll fit that in with school and a job : )

And....I think that's a wrap where Dylan is concerned!

1 comment:

Pat and Lee said...

Great update on Dylan! I feel all caught up with him, now! So good that he can go back and play in the high school practices too. It's fun for him, and good for the kids who are still in high school.
Good that he'll be going back to Thunderbird this summer - that will help.
Sad that he's not eligible for the full scholarship again next year, but good that he still has one to use. There aren't many kids today who get through two years of university, debt free!
Go, Dylan!!