Full Circle: 30+ years with Alpha Sigma Lambda

by Elaine Mattern

It’s funny how certain life events sometime bring you full circle. As I am nominated to a position with the ASL Executive Committee, I find myself looking back, nostalgically, at a long history of involvement with the Society.

My very first experience with ASL occurred over 30 years ago – in the role of supportive spouse. The 1972 induction ceremony at La Salle brings back vivid memories of a very special night: banquet hall, candlelit dinner, live music, and a proud group of adult honor students, many of whom were returning to school after military service during the Vietnam war. My husband was one of these ex-soldiers now looking to provide for his growing family. And growing it was! I remember dancing rather awkwardly and cautiously that night as I was just a couple weeks short of delivering our second child, Joseph.

Several years later, it was my turn to go to school. I had never followed the traditional college path after high school and, now, in the early 1980s, I felt that something was missing from my life. Besides the demanding roles of wife and mother, I was now ready to add the challenging role of adult student. With a supportive family behind me, I began classes at the same school my husband had attended, La Salle. Inspired by his induction into ASL, I soon set a personal goal of becoming a member myself. After a few years of term papers and tests, I was delighted to be invited “into the club” and became the next family member to be inducted. At that time, ASL induction ceremonies were held as part of a larger “Appreciation Night” in which La Salle honored not just the inductees, but also the supportive spouses as well. No candlelight nor dancing this time around, but no baby-on-the-way either! By now my son was in grade school.

As I continued my studies at La Salle through the 1980s, I began to volunteer my time to ASL – as a student speaker at induction ceremonies and as a peer tutor. It was an honor to motivate other adult students and introduce them to the merits of Alpha Sigma Lambda. By the end of the decade, I was also employed at La Salle, adding yet another role to my busy life.

The 1990s brought many changes to Continuing Studies at La Salle: some positive; some adverse. On the plus side, our school was asked to become the National Office of Alpha Sigma Lambda and I became directly involved as office manager under the direction of our Associate Dean, Dr. Edna Wilson. Once again, I felt like I was coming full circle. Edna had been my advisor and supporter throughout my journey in the ‘80s as an adult student. In many ways, she had become a role model and mentor. As National Councilor of La Salle’s Alpha Delta chapter, it was she who inducted me into the Society. Now, here we were in new roles – working together professionally to ensure that ASL was being served at the national level. It seemed a daunting task. Some of the first challenges to be met were the re-organization of a computerized chapter database and the creation of a billing/invoice system for each chapter transaction. Before you knew it, we were knee deep in ASL sweatshirts and banners! Inventory tracking also became an important part of the agenda. At this point, we needed a young student worker who could implement our plans on a new computer system. My son, Joseph, now a college student himself, was home for the summer and looking for work. Edna and I brought him onboard and his contribution was invaluable. Within a few weeks, he had successfully managed to meet our demands, and the office was up and running. So the little baby-to-be who had attended an ASL induction almost 20 years before, played a pivotal role in getting ASL online and established as the national office at La Salle!

Unfortunately, by 1994, La Salle had to relinquish the administration of the ASL National Office because of university downsizing and major re-structuring of the School of Continuing Studies. Dr. Edna Wilson moved on and, for the next few years, our local chapter, Alpha Delta, remained dormant.

However, my ties to ASL were unbroken as I continued to advocate for a reactivation of our chapter to the new administration. By 1998, the conditions were favorable, and we resumed inductions of honor students with my appointment as National Councilor. In the past six years, I am proud to report that we have had the pleasure and privilege of inducting over 200 new members to Alpha Sigma Lambda. The tradition goes on …

And so does my connection to ASL – from onlooker and supporter in the 1970s, to adult student and inductee in the 1980s, to administrator and national councilor in the 1990s. In some ways, my being a part of ASL seems so much more than just the honor of membership itself – it seems an ever widening circle of new experiences and new relationships, coming full circle once again, this year, as I accept the nomination for Secretary. Truly amazing!