As calendar pages fall to the ground on campuses throughout the country, the bitter cold and stiff winter winds have relented into more forgiving, more gentle spring breezes.

So too, the claims of rampant and systemic alcohol abuse, hazing, homophobia, racism, and sexual assault have become more tepid as the school year winds down, and the call for fundamental change that seemed so desperate now seems as though it will slip into the rhetorical abyss of "awareness" and starting a conversation.

We don't need yet another meeting. We need to put shovels in the ground and get to work.

You are powerful, by Tracy Maxwell

This is the title of chapter 8 in my bookBeing Single, with Cancer: A Solo Survivor’s Guide to Life, Love, Health & Happiness, and also the topic of one of the sessions in a 5-week tele-course I teach.  The thing is, for a long time, I didn’t feel that way myself. It wasn’t until cancer knocked me flat on my back that I truly understood my own power. The power to heal, the power to make a difference, the power to connect others in meaningful ways, the power to change my perspective. We are all powerful, but many of us are going through life like I was – not recognizing our own unique superpowers, or even actively denying them. 

I believe in Delta Gamma: My three lessons from the Delta Gamma Institute

From Thursday, February 13th through Sunday, February 16th, I had the distinct pleasure of facilitating at the Delta Gamma Institute in Columbus, OH, where thousands of women from across the United States gathered to hone their leadership skills and advance Delta Gamma's mission and values.

Although the Institute is targeted for undergraduate women, I couldn't help but take away three leadership lessons of my own.

Hero Town, USA: An origin story

For Batman, it began in the dark alley where Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne were murdered. For Captain America, it consisted of the numerous rejections he received as he sought to serve his country. For Thor, it was the combination of being on the receiving end of an intergalactic timeout and his affinity for hardware of a different temper than those carried by your local Home Depot.

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to be a part of a different kind of origin story, one born out from a truly amazing event, the Hero Round Table in Flint, Michigan.