Knowledge speaks, and wisdom listens. There’s a reason the owl is perceived as the wisest animal or bird in the forest. It has the most attuned hearing and is particularly alert at nighttime.

My junior high school mascot was an owl: the Hughes Owls. My fellow basketball teammates weren’t enamored with that team name, mainly because we weren’t the Vikings, the Mustangs, the Eagles, or any other pro team sound-alike. No, we were the bookish owls.

But, all these years later, I appreciate that my educational heritage includes a wise bird that is a master at camouflage, comfortable in solitude, serves as a natural pest control for farmers, and was the mascot of victory in ancient Greece. After all, our natural role models are meant to evolve.

Gooooooooo Owls!