Tom the Kingmaker

A few days ago I participated in a campus tradition called, "Caroling and Cakes." I joined other staff and faculty on the crisp but cheerful stroll through a wintry Iowa night on a mission to deliver some Christmas spirit to students as they entered into finals week.

Into all four residence halls, up to every floor, through the library and into the food service area we belted out all my favorite Christmas songs to slightly shocked and amused students chowing down on free pancakes cooked and served by faculty and staff.

Our first years had never seen this before. Our seniors smiled with pride as they watched the faces of our newest community members. Who wouldn't be proud to be associated with such a motley caring crew?

This was their school. These were their professors and campus support staff. This was the Graceland Experience they had been promised. This was one more example of the, "Ministry of Presence" that makes Graceland such a special place.

It's during times like this that I miss my friend and mentor Tom Powell the most. He was our beloved Dean of Students. He was the one that started and supported so many of our very special campus traditions like Caroling and Cakes. This time last year he was still with us as much as he could be. I will always remember his big laugh, his joy and his commitment to students. Most of all, I will remember that he set himself apart not just by his leadership, but by his ability to recognize and develop leadership in others.

The first time I had ever really heard the term "Kingmaker" it came from Tom. He didn't reference himself this way, rather he charged the rest of us to aspire to this. He wanted us to become "King and Queenmakers" on campus. He asked us not just to lead, but to grow and support leaders to come more fully into themselves.

As Tom's staff, we were never meant to be the center of the show. As Student Life professionals our primary focus was meant instead to be one of empowering students to take the lead. We were expected to be there to teach the tools and provide the listening ear they would need to accomplish more than they thought they could.

Tom didn't just ask us to do this for students. He did it for us. He did it for me. I'll never forget the phone calls that started with, "Catharine, this is Tom Powell...I need a favor." I'll never forget the times I sat in his office while he and Marian decided that I was a good fit for a project and they wanted me to run with it.

He gave me a goal and trusted my creativity and skills to get it done.

What a humbling experience.

When Tom asked us to do something there was always a strange mixture of excitement and fear. You knew what he was asking was going to be hard, but you also knew if he asked you then he had faith it would work. You also knew he was going to do everything in his power to see that whatever support you needed would be provided.

I am not always the queenmaker/kingmaker that I wish I was, but it is something that I aspire to regularly. I work to give what I was given. On the days when my patience is running thin and I am feeling unmotivated I think of Tom and what he believed me to be.

I want to be that.