Epsilon Kappa had always talked about having a woman speaker come to our meeting. Promoting women in music, and more generally, music, is what we do so what could be more appropriate? When Nathalie put the “Women in Music Series” as part of her platform for the office of Director of Service and Music, we were all very excited at the return of this great idea that we had never gotten around to putting on.
We had the grand kickoff to the series this month on November 14th with a woman highly recommended by our sponsor Jennifer Judkins. She was none other than Antoinette Mongelli, the Executive Director of the UCLA Volunteer Center! It would be an understatement to say that I was blown away. Professionally, she has a long history with UCLA and an endless list of accomplishments. She has been the Executive Director of Special Events and Protocol and has also been the Assistant Chancellor. Talk about rocking the world! But what really captivated us were her charismatic personality and her dynamic storytelling skills (such an EK personality)! We were so excited for her to come and we had set up a music stand at the front for her as the sisters sat in arcs. The first she did when she walked in was sit down in a chair and tell all of us to scoot in closer. She wanted to chat with us! “I don’t do the 60 minute speech thing,” she said. As she talked us through her early childhood with immigrant parents and the “alpha personality” she developed as the oldest sibling, I felt like I was just listening to a good friend over a cup of coffee. She explained how service had always been a part of her life, not as something that you’re supposed to do but rather something you just DO. Her life story was filled with unexpected opportunities, new places to explore, obstacles to face and overcome, and you never knew where she would go next. She advised us to not be afraid to try new things and that everything you do should be done for joy. Ms. Mongelli reinforced the idea of “joy” with every story of her life and in the end that is what matters. You do everything because it makes you happy. If it doesn’t make you happy, find something else to do.
When I decided to write this Lyre article, my head was filled with all of the great things I could say about the wonderful night and yet now I surprisingly find myself at a loss of words. She is simply one of those people that you meet and you think, “Wow, I want to be just like her.” But what is great about her is that she isn’t someone that you just look up to, she talks to you like you’re her friend and shows you than you CAN be like her. She ended the session by asking each and every one of us in the room what we dreamed to be when we were 5 years old (my favorite answer was Audrey’s: a princess!) and what we want to do after college. It was surprising how many great beautiful dreams were in that room that I didn’t know about. Sisters never cease to amaze me! Frankly, I don’t know what I want to do after I graduate and sometimes that scares me out of my mind. But after meeting Ms. Mongelli, I know that I will be just fine and I can’t wait to see all that awaits in this big world. As long as there is joy and tiramisu! J
-Becca Toda, Alpha Nu
