Follow the Leader (But Not Too Closely)

As many of my friends and colleagues know, I poured my heart and soul into organizing this year's Women in Leadership Conference. As the primary volunteer coordinator, I was behind the scenes making sure everything ran smoothly and each station had enough volunteers to support a large conference. Attendees who are not familiar with large scale event management cannot imagine how much energy I have put into this project in the past six months. So when I scrolled through the event photos this morning, I was hurt to find something glaringly absent: me. Logically, I know it wasn't a malicious oversight.  That doesn't make it sting any less. Especially when it stings because it mirrors the feeling I carry around every day: the feeling of being present, yet unseen. Let's do my debrief of the day of the conference, just gloss over all of the buildup events starting from January. It started early, 06:30, and my veins were filled with an unspecified energy drink. My binder, usua...

As I approach the fourth anniversary of my initiation as a Deltasig, I feel that it's time to reflect on how being a part of this fraternity has impacted me as a young professional. -- My undergraduate business studies began amid the disorienting conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time when most first-year students are expected to become involved in their business world, the entire world was just tentatively reopening. I was surrounded by many peers who were still carrying the weight of isolation, a hesitation to socialize, often lacking the very social skills that business demands. I, too, felt a sense of isolation, but for different reasons than my peers who had always had the benefit of brick-and-mortar schooling. My upbringing had always made me feel like an outlier, and now, amidst that sea of hesitant faces, I again found myself adrift. At that time, ironically, the only people who seemed genuinely willing to engage in the spaces I occupied were the faculty. It was w...