#159 the gap

The winner of our university's Humanitarian Service Award runs a program to help low income Chicago public school students overcome the obstacles to higher education.  Entitled "TNT" (Targeting New Transitions), it is billed as "a dynamite program for ninth graders."  

In her comments after receiving the award, Mary Conway Charles spoke of her work with college students who assist her in the program.  "The line between possibilities and expectations is blurred for young people -- I harness that energy.  They don't see social problems as daunting; they see it as an opportunity."

It reminded me of a comment that Lee Williams made when describing the work of student life professionals: "they inhabit the gap."  There is a gap between knowledge and action -- for example, we know what it takes to be healthy but often need intervention in order to act on that knowledge; we know that there are hungry people but need structure to provide action to help them.  Student affairs often fills that gap for students on campus.

Where do you have the chance to take advantage of a gap between what is and what could be -- either in your own life or bridging that gap for others?  How can we work to help the newly elected officials inhabit the gap between a vision for America's future and partisanship?  How can you translate your interest in particular social issues into advocacy for a cause?  Think about where there is a gap between what your organization espouses as its values/brand/mission and what you deliver.  How can you take a step toward filling that void today?

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com
@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com