President’s Update: January 2021

Megan O’Rourke
IACAC President
Providence College

I’m not one for resolutions necessarily, I usually end up forgetting about them a few weeks later. This year, given the dumpster fire that was 2020, I decided to start 2021 with a new approach. (Wish me luck!)

Much of 2020 was overwhelming for a variety of reasons. It felt hard to focus on the good things that with time I’ve come to recognize are positive developments. Knowing that 2021 will hold more time away from family and friends (and more zooming!) I realize that I need to spend my time focusing on what I can control, and forgetting the rest. With that in mind, I have set mini goals for each month this year, with the hopes I can come out of 2021 more positive, more focused, and more grateful for what these past months have taught me.

You might be wondering how this relates to IACAC. My hope in sharing this with you, is that you too, can recognize how hard this year has been, and give yourself some grace in your resolutions too. However, I do hope that you’ll consider your involvement with IACAC as a goal for this year or future years! I truly believe I’ve made it through this year because of my colleagues and friends in this organization. They’ve provided me with support and encouragement when the past 11 months have been especially trying, and they continue to motivate me to keep going through it all. I recently participated in the Mentorship meet-up hosted by our awesome Mentorship co-chairs, and afterwards I couldn’t help but reflect on how much I’ve grown and changed and learned from my time within IACAC. I’d like to think that those in leadership roles would say the same about their experiences!

SO. If you are reading this and feeling the weight of this past year, and needing more support, an outlet to commiserate, a way to connect with others-join us! Our members-only part of the website has a lot of great information, ways to share, and ways to get yourself involved. I promise it will make a difference in your development, and IACAC will be positively impacted because of your involvement. It’s a win-win!
Should you ever need anything, have a question, comment, idea, or want to chat-I’m here for you! Please don’t hesitate to email me at president@iacac.org and I’d be happy to talk through whatever you need.

Happy 2021 all-and may it be infinitely better than 2020. ☺

Megan