What do you do when the person seeking help in your hospital is the one who maimed your cousin?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if you live next door to a woman whose husband is incarcerated for taking part in the genocide that killed your husband?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if you grew up in a family devoted to one political value system and find yourself studying next to someone whose beliefs seem inexplicably, even offensively, the opposite?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
You treat him. You form a women\u2019s co-op. You listen respectfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou meet them where they are,\u201d says Riley Bresnahan \u201918, a religion major and Transy\u2019s first national debate champion. A recipient of the U.S. Department of State\u2019s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, Bresnahan studied the reconciliation process in post-genocide Rwanda, listening to the stories of survivors and marveling at the human capacity for forgiveness in the midst of the most grievous atrocities perpetrated by neighbors, friends and family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These stories represent lives of generosity, capable of recognizing a greater good, setting the self aside, trawling the soul to find a way forward. How much easier would it be to lash out with self-righteous fervor?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last spring, in the midst of deepening political discord and fractured civility in our nation, Transylvania\u2019s faculty members came together to consider a way to help the campus community \u201cmove beyond this moral impasse,\u201d as Spanish professor Jeremy Paden describes it. Taking inspiration from French philosopher Simone Weil\u2014\u201cAttention is the rarest and purest form of generosity\u201d\u2014faculty, led by Paden, began to program lectures and events across disciplines that would explore what \u201cliving generously\u201d means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of course, generosity and interdisciplinary learning aren\u2019t new to the Transy community. Neither are struggle and change and conflicting moral values. Transy\u2019s campus is, after all, a microcosm of the larger world. When Transy was founded in 1780, voting rights existed mostly for white men who owned property. Recalibrating values and dislodging the self for the good of others was no easy feat. Yet Pioneers and our evolving institution remind us how possible it is. They show us how generosity is at the heart of progress, and the outcome\u2014more valuable than ourselves\u2014is for the greater good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, how does Transy prepare Pioneers to lead lives of generosity? How do Pioneers assimilate what they learn on campus, in the classroom and out in the world to become at once deeper, more outward and inclusive thinkers? How does their transformed sensibility make it possible for them to live and make a difference on campus and in a diverse world of enormous complexity?<\/p>\n\n\n\nRiley Bresnahan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
CONSTRUCTION ZONE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
For Bresnahan, who is preparing for law school and a life advocating for the elderly and abused, generosity has been modeled throughout her Transylvania experience: in her relationships with professors, in the open exchange of ideas in the classroom and on the debate team, and from the survivors of genocide in Rwanda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She\u2019s found it in the guidance of teachers \u201cdedicated to helping us learn and explore and understand\u2014or attempt to understand what we can\u2019t understand,\u201d she says. Hate is an example, or how from the survivors of hate we can learn about love, tolerance, empathy and forgiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the women\u2019s co-op in Rwanda, in which Hutus and Tutsis banded together, she observed their ability \u201cto get past the things that made them unalike and see the things that made them incredibly alike, especially their situations at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The system of reconciliation worked, she believes, not simply out of the necessity to survive, but \u201cbecause it wasn\u2019t about retribution or justice in the western\/American sense; it was about love and treating human beings the way that you would treat someone you love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drawing on the many dimensions of her experience, she concludes that education is the key: \u201ceducating ourselves about the way other people feel, their situations, and making a more inclusive and diverse community.\u201d She is adamant that all voices should be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SOME DISCOMFORT REQUIRED<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Fruitful exchange requires a generosity of listening, of putting the self, personal agenda and preconceptions aside. It\u2019s about being open and prepared to enter a zone of discomfiture that gives new meaning to \u201cgetting outside your comfort zone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think it goes back to listening, really listening,\u201d says education professor Tiffany Wheeler \u201990, \u201cand then holding space for each other in the sense that you\u2019re not trying to fix somebody or judge them; you\u2019re interacting with people and truly listening to who they are, what their experiences are and what they bring to the table. You take the time not just to meet people on a surface level, but to try to figure out who they are at their core and what makes them who they are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chanslor Gallenstein \u201816, who is now at Harvard Law School, recalls his own plunge into uncharted territory. He arrived at Transy as someone who\u2019d never had a gay friend or ever imagined having a friend who would vote for the Democratic Party. \u201cI came here and my first class at 8:30 a.m. on a Monday morning was intro to U.S. politics with Don Dugi. That whipped me into shape real quick,\u201d he says with laughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the process, he learned how much he loved the exchange of ideas and the liberal arts education that opened him to many perspectives. At Transy he realized that \u201cdialogue is the basis of free thought.\u201d Nothing gets done, he says, \u201cif you\u2019re set in stone in your ideology and your personal opinions and you\u2019re unwilling to open your mind to think about any other possible perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gallenstein insists he wouldn\u2019t be the person he is today if not for the Transy experience. \u201cI would not have grown to be accepting and understanding,\u201d he says. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t be able to look at the Israeli- Palestinian conflict from a lens other than what\u2019s told to me by the television or my family. I wouldn\u2019t be able to look at some of the big issues of the world and not see just my perspective but other people\u2019s perspectives,\u201d he explains. \u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s a type of education that can compete with this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raaziq El-Amin \u201919, whose interests in education equity and social justice led to a summer fellowship with the Southern Education Leadership Initiative in Atlanta, would agree: \u201cWe\u2019re all here to learn, so it\u2019s good to learn about other points of view. Who wants to stay stuck in our own heads?\u201d the anthropology\/ sociology major notes, \u201cI would like for us to be able to exist respectfully and to be able to pick each other\u2019s brains.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
El-Amin had the opportunity to gain practical experience at the grassroots level. In the process, he says, \u201cI realized that the best way to help is to listen.\u201d By working directly with community members through Georgia STAND-UP, he observed the power of listening first and then facilitating action. He witnessed \u201chow these smaller organizations make a real impact in people\u2019s lives. I saw the same people over and over again and saw how invested they are in bettering the community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Returning to Lexington for his junior year, El-Amin brought his on-the-ground experience, as well as ideas gleaned from the vantage of living in another city. His summer in Atlanta confirmed for him that, in order to make true progress, we need to have open and honest discussions about the fundamental issues that often divide us: race, gender, sexuality and politics. Particularly with race, he says, we need to be willing to be uncomfortable in these conversations rather than glide along on the pretense that we are colorblind and that no problem exists. He has already led an exercise in class that creates a space for students to come together to exchange honest and difficult questions and answers. His next plan is to hold a similar gathering in the William T. Young Campus Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I think Transy prepares students for a life of generosity,\u201d says El-Amin, \u201cby encouraging them to be reflective and understand themselves well enough that they\u2019re able to see where they t and how they can best help to be a resource to others.\u201d He adds, \u201cI would say that by the time we leave Transy, we all want to give back in some way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\nShericka Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
FULL CIRCLE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
As a young teen, Shericka Smith \u201905 watched her mother at work as the director of the Salvation Army\u2019s homeless shelter. She absorbed the many gestures of kindness and the trauma of families being separated. \u201cSince then,\u201d she says, \u201cI\u2019ve had this passion for helping families and helping kids, and helping parents stay on track so they can do what\u2019s best for their kids.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Smith excelled as a student at Tates Creek High School and followed her sister, Shawnetta, to Transylvania, where she was able to thrive, she says, and \u201cprove that no matter where you come from you can succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2014, she returned to her alma mater, Tates Creek High, where she was named Kentucky\u2019s 2016 School Social Worker of the Year. \u201cI\u2019ve been blessed by having opportunities,\u201d she says. \u201cI just felt it made sense to come back and help the same folks in the same neighborhood I grew up in and left to make a better life.\u201d Every day is different for Smith, because, as she explains, students who experience trauma manifest it in ways that can\u2019t be anticipated. \u201cFor the kids who act out, once we dig deeper and find out it\u2019s because of a traumatic event, then we can work with them.\u201d And listen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a certified Youth Mental Health First Aid instructor, she is active in the county\u2019s Project AWARE grant, helping to train teachers, faculty, staff, parents and even some older children how to look for signs of mental illness. \u201cI love training. I love spreading the word\u2014making mental health okay and reducing the stigma,\u201d she says. \u201cBut also meeting so many different people from other schools and agencies and hearing their ideas and struggles and seeing how we can come up with a plan together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Smith is constantly learning, mentoring and earning advanced certification in her field, emulating those who guided her. \u201cThe professors and everyone at Transy helped me on my journey to do more,\u201d she explains. \u201cBesides the great education I received, what sticks with me the most is how much professors gave back and invested in their students\u2014that whole attitude of helping others and being there for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She loves writing recommendations and seeing the process repeat as Tates Creek students attend Transylvania, then return to their alma mater to teach, as several have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When asked about the difficulty of her job, she deflects praise to acknowledge her colleagues. \u201cFunny thing,\u201d she says, \u201cI know my job\u2019s hard, but, being in education, I admire teachers. I don\u2019t think I could do that. We all lean on each other, which is great. I wouldn\u2019t be here without teachers. It\u2019s full circle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
The Rev. Kathryn Perry \u201910 steers head-on into what most of us shove aside until left without any choice: death\u2014and prioritizing what is important during the transition from life to death. As a palliative care chaplain at the University of Kentucky\u2019s Chandler Hospital, her days straddle this life and the next for families of every background and belief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perry\u2019s work requires putting the self aside to enter a sacred and exceedingly difficult place, listening carefully to the needs of the most vulnerable and being supportive of her peers on the palliative care team. Together they tend \u201cthe sickest of the sick\u201d from around the state, meeting them at any point in an illness. \u201cPain is physical, emotional and spiritual,\u201d she explains, which is why the palliative care team is interdisciplinary. Much of her work is about helping people with anxiety and providing emotional support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe listening component is one of the most beautiful things about what I get to do every day,\u201d she says. \u201cI invite people to tell me about their lives or what\u2019s important to them, what they value.\u201d More often than not, it isn\u2019t a party affiliation or a particular argument that rises to the top\u2014\u201cit is spending time with the people they love, it is going fishing or watching television and eating ice cream\u2014those very simple, seemingly ordinary pieces of life that really make us who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These end-of-life lessons are ripe for the living. For Perry, it\u2019s about being willing to leave your preconceptions behind and to meet people where they are\u2014the golden rule of hospital chaplains\u2014\u201cnot necessarily to try to change that place, but to try to understand and see where they\u2019re coming from.\u201d Connecting to people through their stories is something she believes her Transy education prepared her to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perry sees her Transy education as a whole. \u201cAll of the classes collectively taught me to be a certain kind of person and thinker,\u201d she says, and professors, campus initiatives and alumni continue to inspire her. \u201cThey\u2019re teaching people how to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listening deeply, being curious, willing to challenge the familiar and learning to value others above ourselves, are testaments of who Pioneers become. \u201cThey\u2019re teaching people how to live the values that Transy espouses and that brought me to Transy,\u201d Perry adds. \u201cThey\u2019re teaching by showing and by modeling what it means to live a generous life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lives of Generosity What do you do when the person seeking help in your hospital is the one who maimed your cousin? What if you live next door to a woman whose husband is incarcerated for taking part in the genocide that killed your husband? What if you grew up in a family devoted to one political value system and find yourself studying next to someone whose beliefs seem inexplicably, even offensively, the opposite? You treat him. You form a women\u2019s co-op. You listen respectfully. \u201cYou meet them where they are,\u201d says Riley Bresnahan \u201918, a religion major and Transy\u2019s first national debate champion. A recipient of the U.S. Department of State\u2019s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, Bresnahan studied the reconciliation process in post-genocide Rwanda, listening to the stories of survivors and marveling at the human capacity for forgiveness in the midst of the most grievous atrocities perpetrated by neighbors, friends and family members. These stories represent lives of generosity, capable of recognizing a greater good, setting the self aside, trawling the soul to find a way forward. How much easier would it be to lash out with self-righteous fervor? Last spring, in the midst of deepening political discord and fractured civility in our nation, Transylvania\u2019s faculty members came together to consider a way to help the campus community \u201cmove beyond this moral impasse,\u201d as Spanish professor Jeremy Paden describes it. Taking inspiration from French philosopher Simone Weil\u2014\u201cAttention is the<\/p>\n
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