Sister Tales

Bridging Differences

By Jocelyn M. Frohwein, Iowa Epsilon President

Ihave always felt a little different. In my family, it was often hard to fit in. I was born very light-skinned, to my mother’s relief, but I wanted that warm cocoa color melanin that graced my tias and primas around me. My mother would sing me songs filled with words of sunshine and blooms, but when she died when I was three, I felt cold and lonely. I shuffled from relatives to foster care, never entirely being accepted anywhere.

I have always struggled to know a sense of self, a sense of belonging and giving credence to where I am in the moment combined with who I am in the present light. I have suffered a great deal of questioning my inner thoughts: will I be good enough, am I enough, and am I in the right spot? At least, that was how I felt very much in the day-to-day world of my existence until this summer.

This last school year, 2021-2022, was difficult for me and probably every educator I know. It felt as though the alphabet soup of educational acronyms was coming to a boil on a hot stove while the social-emotional needs of our students were turning the heat up past the boiling limits into a lava inferno, and the support and strength of staff around us (the potholders, so to speak) were nowhere to be found. Top it off with losing three great mentors – my biological dad, a man I thought of as a father figure, and my dog – as well as getting COVID myself with some long-term difficulties, and I had a recipe for destruction, depression, and despair.

So with all this, you would think I was done, perhaps ending my educational journey, but life had other plans. I was installed as president of my chapter. I was thinking, this is it. Everyone is going to see me fail. Little did I know that there would be sisters, wonderful sisters, put before me to strengthen, guide, and love me. One even invited me to the North Central Regional Conference in July. That night I felt that there was a little light shining on our meeting.

A few weeks later, we met as an executive board, and a little more light and laughter filled my need to find joy. Then, I attended a work conference. I was worried I would lose my spark, but a sister was there on the trip with me, bringing sunshine everywhere she went.

The next major event was the regional conference in Frankenmuth, MI. I landed at one in the morning and got in a car to drive to Michigan at seven-thirty the next morning. I was scared to be there and did not really know what to expect or who to talk to. I was worried about where everything was and how to get to every session and participate. I was so tired that I crashed and barely remembered the ride there.

What I found when I got there was this: a beautiful sisterhood of women who genuinely want to bond, connect and share, a mentor who made my conference experience amazing and allowed me to ask as many questions as I needed, and friends who sang beautiful songs to remember those that we had lost. Laughter was plentiful as we danced the night away. I met kindred spirits who touched my aching soul. Healing happened, and connections were made with sisters. I felt a sense of belonging in an otherwise dangerous world. Best of all, there was an atmosphere of community, a renewal of hope, an overwhelming acceptance and a feeling of belonging that made my heart sing with joy.

Every sister needs to attend a regional conference. That is my suggestion for everyone. If you are feeling a bit out of place or perhaps in need of a recharge, you need to go to a regional conference. We do our best thinking and acting when connected with our social-emotional well-being. I am coming back to teach this year, and I feel like I can take on the world, knowing that my sisters have my back, many whom I can go to if I need anything.

Get to know other sisters around you, and reach out to those in your region. Make a new friend, find a new idea, and spark some untapped creativity. Most of all, be you, be seen and bring your best to your sisters, and they will bring it right back to you. Lean on each other for guidance and support because, honestly, there is no other wonder than having a sister with whom you can share both the good and the bad, the happy and the sad. Each of us uniquely brings something new to the table. We glow in the lamp of learning from what we share and learn from each other.

Global Outreach Recipient Shares Korean Experience

By Diana Pendelton, SC Alpha Epsilon

As an Agnes Robertson Global Outreach scholarship recipient, I was able to travel to South Korea this year in July. The purpose of my trip was to meet with English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers in South Korean schools and to visit historical and cultural sites. I accomplished these goals and more.

I was met at the Incheon Airport by Caroline, who had just started her fifth year of teaching in three small elementary schools in central South Korea. Like most other ESL teachers there, Caroline came to South Korea through the English Program in Korea (EPIK). This organization hires teachers from English-speaking countries, provides them with an introductory orientation, assigns them to towns and schools and acts as their liaison.