Emily Kolek, Class of 2011 and a recipient of the Joseph G. Smith Award for Academic Excellence and Distinguished Service, reflects on the values she experienced as a student at Carlow University, and how the world could benefit from a few of the Mercy values.
It’s been more than a decade since I joined the Carlow community as a student. While I have reminisced on my time at the university throughout the years, it wasn’t until recently that I realized how much the world could use a dose of Carlow. The news is heavy. It’s hard to find the good when the bad is doing a really good job at stealing all the light. Thinking about what I could do to outshine the negativity, I remembered three key parts of my Carlow education that can help us all change this world for the better.
Hospitality
The university defines hospitality – one of its core values – as the wholeness of each person, creating a space in our campus community for all individuals with their varied beliefs, cultures, orientations and abilities. It’s really easy to think we’re hospitable—a welcoming wave, a genuine “hello.” But when we welcome others into our homes, places of worship, workplaces, are we welcoming all of them? Is there room to create more space for the wholeness of each person? Think about what our communities could be like if we deepened our understanding of and truly embraced hospitality.
Sustainability
During my tenure at the university, I had the opportunity to attend a Sisters of Mercy-sponsored event at the United Nations in New York City. We learned about the Sisters’ Critical Concerns and the work they do in support of them. When digging into the Critical Concern: Earth, I could not escape the idea of sustainability and using critical thinking to understand the lasting, effects of our choices. With the very real and rather scary changes to our climate, I reflect on and question my sustainability efforts every day. What choices can we make to better care for this planet?
Life-long Learning
Learning doesn’t have to be some grand gesture. It doesn’t have to mean going back to obtain another degree (though it can!). It can simply mean reading a news article from a source that may not be your usual go-to, or picking up a book in a genre that’s typically not your style. It could be embracing the pickle ball trend or going inward and learning more about yourself through yoga. The more you learn, the more your mind is open to new ideas, new ways of thinking. When I need to pull myself out of doom scrolling on social media, I tell myself to try something new, to open my mind to new ideas.
While memories of our time at Carlow may fade, these parts of the tapestry of my experience hold strong and are a part of who I am. And so I ask all friends and alumni of Carlow, no matter where you are in the world, to share a piece of your Carlow experience, with your neighbors, with your communities, so that we can be the bright light our world needs.