My 9-11 Revelation

On the evening of 9/11 I was sitting and thinking about that day, and remembering the impact it had on me, and confirming that I was not going be an engineer anymore and I was going to go into Higher Ed... well tomorrow, 9/11 will be my last day working full time in Higher Ed... WOW.

Fall 2001 I was a senior majoring in engineering, the president of IFC and figuring out what I was going to do for the rest of my life. I had finished a successful term as my chapter president and working on more general Latino issues for the college and loved being involved. The morning of 9/11 I had a meeting with the college president at WMU, Dr. Elson Floyd (now president at Washington State). On the way to the meeting the news was breaking about a plane crash in NY.... then while in his waiting room, watching live coverage on CNN we saw the second hit, and he came out of his office and had to reschedule. It would later come out that some of the pilots of that attack had trained at WMU... Dr.  Floyd closed our campus at noon.

Right away, Megan Baker and I started to plan... we knew we had to do something. She was my best friend, and Panhellenic President, both on our phones the entire day we worked to organize a candlelight vigil in the fraternity village. When we got reports a fraternity was drinking on their lawn and partying cause school was canceled, me and a couple guys went and made them stop... We took no lip.

Megan and I enlisted others and we organized other Greek leaders to get the word out. Friends like Doogie and my fraternity Brothers all jumped on board no questions asked. We went to every store in town and bought out all the candles we could find. We got the Director of Student Life (Sandy Barry-Loken) to come, our Greek Advisor (and my mentor) Steve Veldkamp and other administrators came. Even the news stations came. It was one of the largest gatherings we had, and it showed the power of student connection, the importance of a support network in college, and of not just Greek Life, but student engagement in general. We had students in village who had family in the area, students with family in the military, and firefights and it was a major tragedy... and we endured it together.

Over the years I had waned from my desire of being an engineer. I had enjoyed my internships, but I knew that I wanted to do something more enriching than designing cars. I had been working on campus in several different capacities and enjoyed the work. That day really helped me see what impact Student Life had on me, and can have on others. It helped solidify that I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my mentor and go into higher education.

Well fast forward... I have been in higher education since... worked two years at Grand Valley State while earning my masters, then four years at Albion College, followed up with four years at Indiana University South Bend, and now just shy of 2 years at Ivy Tech Community College... tomorrow, 9/11 is my last day working in Higher Education. WOW.

That day changed a lot of things in this country, and it clearly changed a lot of things in my life. I think it is why I always worked to honor it in some special way at each college I worked. I want to thank all the great people who came into my life during my career in Higher Education... grad school mentors, first job and all my Albion folks, my IUSB people who taught me to be an administrator and Ivy Tech that taught me the importance of balance.

Today I will attend my last Yoga session at Ivy Tech, a program I started, then our Black Student Union has a remembrance event, and then close the door on my career as a Higher Education Administrator.

Am I sad to go, yeah a little, am I excited for the new venture... absolutely. Monday the 16th I start full time work at La Casa and I can't wait.

I'll close, maybe with a shameless plug... to keep a little connected in Higher Education, and because I do love working with college students so much... I am trying to do more speaking/consulting/facilitating through my OutSight Consulting group I started years ago. Check out my updated site as I'd love to be connected in higher ed still, just no longer with my campus, but hopefully... yours. www.outsightdesign.com

I Sat Between Two Giants

I sat between two giants...

It was a couple weeks ago, interestingly the first day I started telling people about my new job that I had an interesting experience... it has taken me a while to process what happened.

I was attending an Immigration Rally hosted by The Northern Indiana Coalition for Immigration Reform in front of the Morris Theater. Rudy Monterrosa, local lawyer and President of the La Casa board was speaking at it as well as our mayor, and several other notable local people. 

As I approached I saw Gregorio Chavez, retired military and local Latino leader. He was responsible for getting Cesar Chavez Avenue in South Bend, is a national LULAC leader and a guy everyone says good things about. (Article from when La Casa recognized his contributions) I spoke to him when interviewing for La Casa for his advice. I wallked over and he asked me, "So I heard you got the La Casa job?" I had barely just accepted, and the word was out... 

Shortly after Jose Alvarez came over and said, "I heard the good news". I was surprised yet again, that another local, respected and well known community leader not only already knew, but wanted to tell me congrats. Jose is an award winning community activist (Article on Human Rights Award) and retired head diversity officer for our major medical center. You don't go anywhere in South Bend area where people don't know Jose. 

Before the program started we sat down and talked... something I had done with them individually, but this time I was smack between two giant civic leaders in South Bend. What I didn't expect was that they wanted to hear my ideas, and share their experiences and history.

I sat between two giants, and it was an even exchange. It wasn't them telling me what I should, or shouldn't do, or what they would do... I get that a lot from others... no wonder they managed to make a big impact. It isn't about them... its about the people we serve. Clearly their humility is what made them successful in service of others.

I sat between two giants, and now I think the scope of what I am doing is clear. They reminded me that I need to listen, and share my thoughts when asked. I must prepare to know that I won't have all the answers, but I must listen and reflect to find the best path. 

I sat between two giants, and now I truly understand the scope of my role in our community. Is it a little scary? Absolutely. Am I excited for it? Without a doubt. It helps knowing they have my back.

I will reflect back on that day often, obviously I have been for the couple weeks since it happened. I will remember to harness the confidence they gave me and balance it with humility. I must remember to hold my opinions and listen to others, then share with passion and vigor when asked. 

I sat between two giants, and I hope to continue to do it as we lead our community and help make change. I think they saying is that great leaders sit on the shoulders of giants, well I was lucky enough that for a period of time I sat between two giants and it made all the difference. Thank you.