Cindy’s sense of humor
Cindy,
There are many things that I have cherished being a colleague of yours, but the one that is foremost in my mind is your sense of humor. I have always counted on having a laugh with you about things that you and I find funny (and often times others don’t!). I will miss that.
Now onto the serious stuff…
As a colleague at Millersville you have guided and supported me in everything I have done. From those early days in Gerhart to sharing the same floor with you in Stayer. You always paired suggestions with strengths, showing me that I was doing well, but there was always room to do more.
I admire so much about you: your steadfast commitment and contributions to the field of special education; your quiet, effective leadership style; your commitment to your students and advisees; and your desire for all around you to be successful. These are paired with your dedication to your family and passion for “all things Steelers”. You have always emphasized and nurtured students to work with those with significant disabilities, creating teachers who share that passion.
Now is your time to enjoy being with your Mom, Morgan, and the rest of your family and friends.
Fondly,
Ellen

Cindy’s considerate side

1. Cindy always looks out for the new faculty members. For example, when I first joined the Special Education Department as a new faculty member, Cindy gave me an expensive broach with the following inscription: “Her name is Dr. Edeh. If found, please return to Gerhart.”

2. Cindy always supports non-profit organizations. For example, I was fund raising for the Make-a-Wish foundation. I was going to be arrested and jailed and I needed to raise X amount of dollars for my bail. When they came and hand-cuffed me, Cindy said, “If you keep her in jail for one month, I will contribute one dollar.”

3. Cindy is a family friend you can count one. For example, the Steelers played the Jets for the 2011 AFC Championship. Jonathan was supposed to go to bed during half time, but he protested and wanted to see the end of the game. We refused, and then he called Ms. Cindy for “reinforcement.” Cindy asked him, “Why did your parents want you to go to bed before the end of the game?” “They said that I will be cranky in the morning.” Jonathan replied. Ms. Cindy told Jonathan to stay up and watch the entire game. She said, “If your team loses, you have a reason to be cranky in the morning, and when your team wins, who cares if you are cranky?”

I guess Cindy’s support of me when I got my first bad evaluation, listening to me when I need someone, being a friend I can confide in, making a four and a half hour trip just to surprise me at my wedding shower, making a special gift with an inscription of both my and Lyall’s names with our favorite scripture, sharing her mother with me, adopting Jonathan and making him feel special, etc. are not as important as the list above. Cindy, on behalf of Lyall, Jonathan and myself, thank you. We will miss you.

Te echaremos mucho de menos

Who else will give you a cow to help with directions? Dr. Ridley is the best teacher that I know. She is competent, smart and caring. She will be missed.

Friends, Students, Colleagues and so forth

This post is available for free-form posting regarding Dr. Cindy Ridley. If you have stories, thank-you statements or general comments regarding Dr. Ridley all you have to do is comment under this post. Dr. Ridley is retiring and we hope to record all the comments as a show of years of appreciation. You may also add comments to other posts as desired.

Thanks a million (or three)

To paraphrase Cindy, I would like to “show her the data” regarding her substantial influence on the field of special education. What follows is a very conservative estimate of her impact…

• *She has worked as a professor at Millersville for over 20 years.


• *For the majority of those years, she taught 8 courses (20 x 8= 160 courses)


• *Most of those courses had around 25 students in them (160 x 25= 4000 pre-service teachers taught)


• *Each of those pre-service teachers would eventually have a classroom of their own serving approximately 25 children per year. (4000 x 25 = 100,000 students served per year)


• * An average public school teacher works for 30 years in the classroom. (100,000 x 30 years= 3 million students positively impacted by Cindy! )

I was tempted to tell Cindy thanks a million for all that she does, but then realized that that would be a significant underestimate of her accomplishments.