An interesting thought was shared with me last weekend. We
were talking about the Greek Discipline Board and the challenge that comes when
you serve as the resource and the
accountability for our community. A fraternity leader who I know, but haven’t
worked closely with said,
“You know, Mandy, that the 10% of Greek Life that
works with you thinks you’re great.” Umm – thanks? Is that like an approval rating?
 |
| My family at Easter. |
While sad and startling to heard it verbalized, he speaks
the truth. It is not uncommon for me to meet women and men in our community and
have them look utterly perplexed that I look like a normal, regular human
being. No horns, no pitchfork, no black cape of doom. Weird. On occasion, I
have the opportunity to win them over with some genuine conversation. And, on
rare occasion, I have the opportunity to ask them where they learned the lesson
of “who is Mandy Womack?”. Sheepishly they will usually concede that it is just
a part of their chapter culture, or new member program. Not a structured lesson
kind of way, but an understood principle that: The Enemy=The
Administration=Mandy Womack.
Over the course of the past year, I have shared things about
my experience, my fears, my family with you on this blog. As a general rule, I live life with my
heart on my sleeve and fairly open to relationships with people. I invite you,
our Community, into my life. I have included several photos so you can have a
little peek into my life. I welcome the chance to become ‘human’ to you. In an
attempt to Make The Enemy Human, I would like to share with you about my
vocation, my call. For some of you, you are preparing to leave USD. You are
searching for your vocation. For others, it is the beginning of your journey.
It is my honor to accompany some of you on those journeys.
Vocation and calling are a “full life” affair. The apostle Paul shared
in Ephesians 4, "I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you've
received." Worthy is a Greek word describing a scale. On one side is your
call, on the other is your life... They are to be in balance with one another.
The weight of my call requires a genuine life worthy of that call. In
leadership we often call it congruence or authenticity. For me, it is my soul.
Finding my passion was something that came to me in a fairly direct
way... I was a highly involved, at times to the decline of my academic work,
undergraduate. My greatest learning and growth came from my co-curricular
experience. I was elected as the President of an organization that oversaw
1500+ members of our sorority community – and I realized something. I realized
that I truly believed in what we were doing. Living in a way to make the world
better, serving others, caring for each other. Yes! I had hit the jackpot. As
this was unfolding, I was volunteering as a tutor at our local elementary
school. The more I volunteered, the more I realized that being an elementary
education major was not where I wanted to spend the rest of my days. In fact,
it got to the point where I realized that I may not want kids of my own if I
continued to do this work.
In the midst of this was one of my toughest realities. Earlier this
year, I shared with you the story of my friend Katie. Her death, and the community
response affirmed my decision to have my vocation be Greek Life. My call was to
help others see how much can happen through being a member of a fraternity or
sorority. I remember clearly standing in initiation in the kitchen of the Theta
house and really hearing the words of our creed, the words of our oath and
thinking – “This is it!” So, how did a despairing 2nd semester
Junior resolve the dilemma of realizing I was in the wrong major? Once I
determined I wanted to work as a fraternity advisor, I knew I needed to go to
graduate school. So, I finished out my degree and immediately began a Master’s
in Counseling program.
Over the years my passion and vocation have grown to encompass more. Not
a change - as I still really believe that when done right, the fraternal
experience is among the most outstanding opportunities. But, my vocation has
matured and grown in depth to the development of students. I clearly remember
among my first years here, receiving a thank you letter from a chapter
president named Dara. According to his letter, I was more to him than an
advisor, I was his teacher, his mentor, his rock when managing all I had already
experienced.
Each day, I have a chance to really change someone's experience. And,
when I am open to those moments, I know that I am doing exactly what God
created me to do. It can be exhausting and tiring work. Sometimes, exceedingly
repetitive. But, it is life-giving to know that maybe, just maybe I am allowing
someone that moment that I had during initiation all those years ago. And,
that, my friends brings me back here each and every day.
This weekend, take care of yourself. Take care of each other. Take
care of this place. I believe in you.
Posts
