Hope is the Thing with Feathers
“Hope” is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the Gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest Sea;
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
- Emily Dickinson
Welcome to North Dakota State University’s School of Education
During my Open Forum presentation in November 2025, then as a candidate to lead our School of Education, I shared a quote from a letter that poet Emily Dickinson had written to a friend in 1855:
I am out with lanterns looking for myself.
While the metaphor is lovely—our life’s journey in search of understanding ourselves, the line was much more practical: Emily had moved and needed to find her possessions and sort out her new life.
When I was engaged in my due diligence phase of learning about North Dakota State University in the fall, I came upon the most recent declaration that the School of Education mission is simple, our vision is grand, and our values run deep.
We believe in a sustainable process of building and refining individual knowledge, understanding, and competencies throughout life. We value providing service for the betterment of society and the well-being of its members. And we embrace diversity and diverse perspectives as we seek to eliminate the disparities and injustices in education.
Our school and university’s commitment to meeting the needs of our region, state, and the world align with my lifelong commitment as an educator and educational leader.
Until only mid-December of 2025, I was out with lanterns looking for myself. With profound gratitude to my new colleagues, this university and School of Education are now where my lantern lights—where the mission and values shall converge with my own.
As I completed my first week as the new Head of NDSU’s School of Education, little could have more apt a recurring theme than that of Dickinson’s poem: hope.
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.
More times than I can count, my new colleagues expressed joy and hope for our tomorrows. I did not discern a hand-wringing sort of hope, but rather the sort of hope that comes with commitment—commitment to fostering a culture of interdependence, respect, support, and trust. Regardless of the community in which I find myself, whether it is a faculty meeting, a student celebration, or a collaboration with colleagues and community members, I strive to cultivate that community of hope.
As you consider a new home for your educational journey or, as community members, you wish to engage with us, I invite you to join our conversations—conversations through which we may continue to challenge barriers to education and to build bridges interlaced with hope.
To hope and with hope,
Dr. Elizabeth C. Reilly
Head, School of Education