Spring 2012 - Clarion University

Iam a feminist-woman, a war-is-not-the-answerwoman,
a stop-the-gender-violence-woman and thus, I can be one
angry vagina! Born of loving parents (biological and chosen), our
kin and cherished friends, I am anchored by my husband’s and my
children’s unconditional love. I am Oma to Finn, who takes the universe
seriously, and recommends Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot
of Professor Poopypants for my reading pleasure. Moreover, I am
the recipient of rich relationships with the women and men with
whom I have shared time at Clarion University. I value every hour of
our giving to the great cause of equality, the course for my own
liberation.
For those of you who know me well, my title, “Running the
Victory Lap,” may seem an odd choice. I don’t even walk fast. But
when President Whitney described my final year of directing WGS
in this way, the words felt right. You see, I am no stranger to mental
marathons. I know what it means to strike a pace, persist, grow
weary, tired to the bone, fight the voice in my head that taunts,
“You’ll never make it. Give it up. Who do you think you are” And then,
I see it – the finish line, and I imagine my crossing. I reach deep within;
I find a source of energy unknown to me before. I am sprinting
now, no longer looking back, no longer measuring myself against the
record of another. The run is personal, and finishing is a private
victory.
Thank you all for showing up, for the genuine cheers that will
be with me always. Thank you, too, for the water that quenched my
thirst and the faith
Our
that fed
Collective
my soul.
Legacy.
Smile upon
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