By Stephanie McAlpine, 2015-2016 NIRSA Championship Series Committee Chair

As I thought about my final entry in the NIRSA Championship Series Notes—and the final month of my years within this leadership position—I started thinking about something my dad taught me: leave everything better than the way you found it. This past week was the third anniversary of the sudden loss of my dad to a heart attack. He was a sweet, humble man and I miss him every day. He always led by example and I believe he definitely left this world better than he found it.

To leave something better than when you found it seems like one of the most obvious and simple choices we can make in life. Imagine how different the world would be if everyone’s primary intentions were to interact with anyone and everyone in a way that would leave them—and yourself—better than when you first met. Acting on this tenet—whether in a grocery store or walking down the street, from friendships to relationships to partnerships and beyond—can leave lasting impacts, no matter how small or big the interaction.

Weeks after my dad passed away, my husband Chris and I found out we were going to be parents for the first time. In addition to our careers as mentors, we are now educators of our daughter and—soon to be—SON! I have been consciously living by my dad’s principle for some time now and it is miraculous how profound an effect it has on me. I’m hopeful that I’m setting a positive example for my daughter.

When I’m in a grocery store, I try to engage others with a smile or an extra look in the eye—any kind of positive interaction. Whenever I run an errand, make a business call, or write an email, I try to sprinkle a little light, love, and beauty onto others. Recently, I worked the 2015 USTA Tennis on Campus Championship. At the tournament, I tried to have a smile on my face during every interaction with participants and volunteers. I can think of countless instances where by just being a little brighter and lighter—and sharing that light with others—someone else’s mood was shifted for the better.

I remember attending a conference once where a colleague was feeling really irritated with our Association. It made me sad, so I gently and softly kept engaging with them in little ways. I asked them about their experiences, and mentioned personally being grateful for various little things. By the end of our conversation, this colleague’s mood and perspective had significantly shifted.

These kinds of interactions remind me of throwing stones into the water and watching the ripples spread. They remind me that my seeking to be brighter and leave everything better than when I found it has a ripple effect. I don’t impact just one person with my attitude. Instead, my actions have a lasting impact; that one person I positively affected then impacts others, and so on and so on.

Imagine what the world would look like if we could all leave everything better than when we found it. In practice, this often means meeting people where they are instead of expecting them to meet you halfway. It means interacting genuinely and compassionately—not being fake or insincere. Do you make a conscious effort to always leave things better than when you found them? What would living to this standard look like for you? I invite you to try it on for size and see how your world—and the worlds of those around you—shifts. It will likely be for the better!

NIRSA Championship Series Past Presidents
Last month, at the 2015 NIRSA Annual Conference, we hosted the inaugural Past Chairs Luncheon for the NIRSA Championship Series. I sincerely believe that each of my predecessors lived by the mantra of leaving things better than the way they found them as they served our Association. At the luncheon, I explained how excited I was to turn over this NIRSA Championship Series Committee and the events associated with it to the next chair, Kurt Klier, Facility Manager at the University of Maryland’s Cole Field House & Reckord Armory. I also expressed my  belief that the NIRSA Championship Series was in a better place than when I found it a year ago—and that it is in a much better position
compared with when it first really came into existence back in 2006.

I was at the meeting in Corvallis, Oregon in 2006 where the NIRSA Championship Series as we now know and love it was constituted. The Championship Series Committee was established at that meeting, and so was the desire to no longer focus on the bottom line and on individual event successes alone. Instead, our leadership decided that we needed to be strategic and focused on development within all NIRSA Championship Series programs. NIRSA leaders decided members needed to be aware of the role these programs played in our Association.

The past committee chairs have all worked to enhance the NIRSA Championship Series with the key metric “It’s more than competition!” To continue meeting this metric, our committee must not only educate our members and focus our research on what is valuable to the Association—it must also keep its priorities on target. The Championship Series Committee needs to continue to be focused on service when it comes to Association members, volunteers, and student participants.

We have strengthened partnerships across the Association to foster connections within NIRSA regions and so improve communications regarding NIRSA Championship Series programs. We’ve leveraged resources to invest more effectively in program growth and stability. We’ve begun groundwork to more rigorously monitor and demonstrate our impact. We have done all of this because—just like my dad impressed on me—those of us involved with the NIRSA Championship Series intend to leave our Association and programs better than we found them.

Thank you all for the opportunity to serve on the NIRSA Championship Series Committee!