My time working at Jewell came to an abrupt end this May. Now that I’ve found my new normal and navigated all the change involved in that process I am finally to the point of reflection, and the students have been a recurring theme in my thoughts. To them I say:
Thank You
Over the course of my years at Jewell so many of you touched my world, and it is in the process of embracing a new season that I have discovered just how much.
Thank you for the memories captured throughout the years. Christmas decorating my first year in the Language and Honors House remains one of my favorite memories from that season. Kudos to those women for their creativity. I will forever remember the fraternity man knitting in the lobby while I did rounds and another dressed in a full nun habit eating Taco Bell one late Halloween night. Midnight games of foursquare, Homecoming slip ’n’ slide test runs, and the incredible honor of my name becoming a student-led chant are all experiences I cherish. While “thank you” seems lacking for a decade worth of memories, here goes:
To the fraternity men who treated me with honor and dignity as an authority over you, thank you. You truly demonstrated the principles upon which your chapters were founded. You challenged me to be a humble woman of character through our interactions.
To the fraternity men who would have preferred another to lead them, thank you. You taught me perseverance and the value of consistency. I discovered through you the importance of respect, humility, and communication. I am sure we both experienced more frustration than I probably even remember, but I am thankful for the years walking the halls of the fraternity houses as your Resident Director (RD).
To the sorority women who embraced me as their RD (both times!), thank you for helping create the community in the building and keeping me on my toes in a different, but no less present, way than the men. You showed me the power of getting things done and holding each other accountable.
To the student organization that actively sought to ignore my presence, thank you. I had no idea how much better of a leader I would be until our season together ended. You forced me to lead from a place of influence rather than position. My title worked against me in our interactions and for that I am forever grateful. You taught me how to pick my battles and when to let you fail. I learned self-control to keep quiet when I desperately wanted to speak up. You helped me recognize the difference between controlling and guiding. Thinking outside the box and truly listening to your hearts in order to serve you and do my job became the norm. I know I failed miserably many times as I grew into that new way of leading and for that I wish we could relive some days. Thank you for requiring me to grow and muddling through those years with me.
To the student organizations that came after that season, thank you. Tears are building up as I write this as you all restored so much by your leadership and our interactions. Thank you for seeing me and asking for my opinions. Thank you for inviting me to be part of the team again and desiring to grow in your leadership as well. Thank you for your teams and the unique markers each of them had: the laughter in meetings, the memories made, and the challenges accepted. You were my last groups before saying goodbye to working at Jewell, and I could not have written a better ending.
To all the Jewell students, you are valuable. You are smart. You will impact the world, regardless of where you go or what the size is of your sphere of influence. The choice is yours as to what that impact will be. As you can see from above, you will have one. Thank you for touching my life and making me a better person. I am humbled to have interacted with all of you and look forward to seeing how you all change the world one person at a time. Deo Fisus Labora.
Bee Musings 