Tuesday, May 19, 2009

On Doc Sly

I have had an inquiry about my "pen name" or e-mail address. In 1997 I came to Dakota Wesleyan University as the Chair of the Education Department. I have always been a fan of baseball and it happened the university coach was the same age as my son and he began to rely on me to speak with prospective players and their parents about DWU. By chance, some of his earliest recruits were interested in teaching and it was a "best fit" for both of us to recruit the best and brightest. I began going to all of their games and even got to travel with them on some of their trips.
I have a doctorate in education and thus came the Doc part of my nickname. My first name is Sylvia and many times in my life people have spelled it wrong and I have found saliva, slyvia, etc. The coach and players began to call me DocSly. I have a warm up pullover with that name on the back and now I have vanity plates for my car with DOCSLY. Over the years, the players come back and have had children and so on and I must admit it is a most endearing event when one walks up and gives me a hug and says, "hi DocSly".
The coach has moved on to another "field of dreams" but I will always have a special place in my heart for the DWU baseball players of 1997-2006.

4 comments:

Sarah said...

What a great way to get a nickname!

THE DASH! said...

I have wondered how you got your moniker too.. so how's that for a bit of mind reading on behalf of your blogger readers. Good going :)
Cara

Terry said...

Hi
That was wonderful .
Love to hear how nicknames come about.Thank you for sharing .
Have a great week.

Reddirt Woman said...

I can't think of any better way to get a nickname than by a fellow teacher and the students that you've helped and encouraged along the way. I know it must feel wonderful when they walk up and give you a hug. Besides respecting you, that says that they have a special fondness to you as the person you are.

Thank you for sharing. It is such a nice story.

Helen