Hi Everyone!

Over winter break, I began diamond painting. It’s a craft similar to paint-by-numbers, where you take a stylus and apply tiny faceted resin pieces (AKA diamonds) and place them on a canvas to form an art piece. It’s quite the slow process, but there’s an almost meditative quality to its meticulousness.

It only took me a semester or so, but I finally finished my first piece (with the help of Rylee). Isn’t she a beaut? I have never considered myself to be a crafter, but I think I could get behind something like this.

With that said, let’s find out What’s Up With Will…

First things first (and this one’s a doozy), I logged into Canvas, our university’s learning management system (LMS), this week, only to find out that a massive cyberattack had rendered Canvas inoperable. I originally received an email from SFSU’s Dean of Liberal and Creative Arts stating that the LMS would be down until the end of the semester. I was freaking out, since as a student, all of my work, readings, assignment feedback, and ability to submit assignments would be inaccessible. What’s even worse, though, is that as a teacher, my ability to access student assignments, attendance, or even check the grade book to give out final grades was nonexistent. Thankfully, I got a new email saying that Canvas access was restored from campus IT, but I’m still worried if it’s going to stay that way. Who knows?

In my public speaking class that I am teaching, we spent the rest of this week devoted to presenting persuasive speeches. I wanted to give students the space to explore whatever their hearts desire for this last speech, as we don’t always get the opportunity to bring in our interests in an academic manner. The truth is, though, which I have learned through grad school, is that anything can be researched, analyzed, or explored with a level of academic rigor. By opening the doors to any topic, I was amazed by how creative all the topics were, ranging from basketball being a universal language to how graffiti is not an act of vandalism but rather an art form. 

The applications for Fall 2026 GTAs have also opened this week, and I have decided that I am going to reapply! I am going to spend this summer trying to make some changes to my lesson plans, but I genuinely enjoyed teaching. My only question now is whether I want to teach one class or two!

In Gender Studies, we spent the class doing peer reviews for our final papers. We did two rounds, and I got some good feedback on my auto-ethnographic piece, which really encouraged me to continue diving into the intentional storytelling format that I am writing about. 

Similarly, in Methods, we did not meet this week. Instead, we were given the week to write our final papers and schedule a one-on-one for feedback on our draft we submitted last week. 

As I got onto the Zoom meeting, the professor said to me, “I think I should call you William the Conqueror, because you killed that draft!” He said that the way this paper is going, it could be submitted to an academic conference! We ended up talking through a couple of formatting issues and potential sources for my literature review, but it is invigorating to know that I can succeed at qualitative research methodology, and that it’s actually something I enjoy!

Webster Merriam Dictionary defines Hunter as  “one that searches for something”. This truly exemplifies my friend Hunter. In this case, though, that something being searched for is excellence. There are not many people that I know who have the drive and motivation for success that Hunter exhibits day in and day out. It’s awe-inducing and quite inspiring. 

I first met Hunter when I was in my fifth and final year of college. He was a freshman pledging Delta Sig, but from the moment we met, we hit it off. I tried, but was ultimately not selected, to become Hunter’s big. Instead, we decided that he would become my adopted son. We’ve stayed in touch all of these years since, and when Hunter told us that he would be graduating this May, we knew that we had to be in attendance. So we packed our bags and took a red eye to Atlanta.

We got in early Thursday morning, a day before the graduation, exhausted. The game plan was to rest and recover (while also getting some work done because finals week is almost here), so we would be all set come Friday.

Before we started our workday, though, we made a stop at one of our favorite bakeries in Atlanta, Hell Yeah! Gluten Free. I had no clue about this place until I met Rylee, and then she opened my eyes to the wonderful potential of gluten-free baked goods. As Hell Yeah! itself states, “Gluten Free doesn’t have to suck”. They have absolutely bomb breakfast sandwiches, but my favorite item from this spot is a Pop-Tart, and this spring, the seasonal flavor was blueberry lemon.

The only issue with this place is that its customers are cutthroat. You need to be at the door before it opens. Otherwise, you often stare down a line upwards of 30 minutes. Thankfully, we showed up when there was no wait. Our pro move was to grab a box of pastries and munch on them at the vinyl-themed coffee shop next door, Stereo. Gluten-free goodies plus coffee plus vinyl make for incredible vibes. 

I also took a break during the workday to do a bit of exploring. It’s something that I only got into when I moved to SF, and I really wish that I had that same adventurous energy when I was in Atlanta. It’s better late than never, though. On my adventure, I stumbled upon the Atlanta Contemporary Museum, a free museum right off of Georgia Tech’s campus. When I walked in, I asked if this was a new museum, to which the attendant told me that they have been here since 1989. It seems that the rest of Atlanta shared the same lack of exploration that I did back when I lived here, haha.

The museum focuses on showcasing art from artists still living today, with an emphasis on artists who have not yet had a major exhibition in the Southeast. There were two exhibits on display: “Georgia Women to Watch 2026: A Book Arts Revolution” and “Unbound Narratives: Embodied Languages”.

“Georgia Women to Watch 2026: A Book Arts Revolution” reflects on the power of books in shaping our understanding of the world. They are artifacts that transmit ideas, stories, knowledge, and history. This exhibit highlights works from five women artists who are redefining books as a creative medium. Through these pieces, each artist weaves together personal narratives with the book’s power of storytelling into art, giving new meaning to this medium. I personally enjoyed The Bed Series by Gabi Madrid, which explored the process of deconstructing and rebuilding oneself through a disassembled and carved bedframe.

The second exhibit, “Unbound Narratives: Embodied Languages”, brings together a collection of works by artists who use language as an embodied medium that is lived, felt, and carried within us. They play with language across artistic mediums such as film, painting, and sculpture to describe a force that shapes identity, experience, and memory. It reminds me a lot of what I have been learning for the past year about communication as a constitutive practice that we all engage in. This artwork is a beautiful and visceral representation of just that.

We were up bright and early for the big day, marching our way down to McCamish Pavilion, Georgia Tech’s Basketball arena, and the location of the Friday Morning Commencement. We navigated through the stadium to make our way down to the reserved seating that he was able to score for us because of his work with the Commencement department. It was an optimal location to cheer super loud when Hunter walked across the stage! I am so proud of him! As 2013 Georgia Tech Freshman Convocation Speaker Nick Selby said, “You Can Do That!”, and Hunter did just that!

In addition to Hunter himself graduating, we also tuned into a 45-minute preshow featuring the accomplishments of this year’s graduating class and perhaps one of the best commencement speakers I have ever heard, done by a former GT grad who shared his journey on becoming CEO of the largest food processing company in Latin America.

On the one hand, graduations are long, but on the other, I’ve begun to love the pomp and circumstance of it all. From the processional, where everyone walks to the stage wearing their silly outfits (which one day I might wear one too), to the words of wisdom, achievement, and affirmation, there is something special about the environment. Graduations are moments of pure celebration. They bring together everyone to revel in the achievement of a major life milestone.

For the rest of the day, we continued the celebration, having a happy hour with Hunter’s family before heading to Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall, a lovely camping-themed outdoor beer garden. This was my first time visiting this spot, but it also existed the entire time I went to GT, opening back in 2012. Dang, I really should have checked out more of Atlanta. They are known for their porch pouches, which are the equivalent of an adult Capri-Sun. I tried the Tequila Mountain Cooler, featuring ginger liqueur, orgeat, lemon, and Hawaiian Punch. It felt like I was a kid again as we cheers-ed to one of the more important adult accomplishments. Congrats again, Hunter!

Since we were in Atlanta, we decided to meet up with my parents for an early Mother’s Day celebration! We stopped at Egg Harbor Cafe, a spot with a lot of delectable gluten-free brunch options, including a GF cinnamon roll that my mom raves about! I ended up getting an “ultimate” breakfast wrap with eggs, ham, and peppers and onions. I can’t resist foods with grandiose adjectives. For the same reasons, one of my favorite pizzas to get is a “Supreme”.

I am so happy we got to make this work, as it’s not all the time that you get to spend Mother’s Day together. I hope you all had an Ultimate Mother’s Day, just like we did!

One final adventure for the week: We finally took a Waymo (not in SF, but in Atlanta, of all places). We were a little bit afraid when our Uber was upgraded for free, but the ride itself felt rather unexceptional, in a negative way. There were harsh stops, questionable detours, and an absolute refusal to turn right on red. However, my ego surely was boosted by the numerous people whipping out their phones to take photos of the self-driving car. I imagine this is what it feels like to have paparazzi following you around all the time.

Boy Throb, the TikTok boy band sensation, has continued their track for pop stardom, and they have just reached new heights by meeting with the OG boy band New Kids on the Block! Sure, social media might give us brain rot, but there is no way that Boy Throb would exist without it. That’s a sacrifice I am okay with.