Embracing Unexpected Opportunities

The current Epsilon Lambda Chapter President Taylor Stevanson (Epsilon Lambda 2021/IU South Bend) wasn’t even supposed to attend the 44th National Convention. 

In June 2022, Taylor was the Vice President of Community Relations, and only Epsilon Lambda’s Chapter President and Vice President of Operations were going. However, when another obligation prevented the Chapter President from attending, the chapter gathered to vote on who would attend Convention instead – and Taylor was in. 

“Convention was amazing. I really wasn’t sure what it would be like, and it was way more than I expected,” she said. 

While at Convention, Taylor had the opportunity to hear the former Dress For Success CEO Joi Gordon speak at the Women’s Leadership Luncheon, funded by the generous donors of the Alpha Sigma Tau Foundation. 

During her address, Joi spoke about her journey into nonprofit leadership, helping others, and how there’s a new and often unexpected opportunity around every corner. 

Joi’s words inspired Taylor for different reasons than other Convention attendees. 

For the week leading up to Convention, Taylor had been keeping a secret. She’d been rejected from the highly competitive nursing program she’d worked toward for the first two years of college. “I hadn’t told my family yet,” she said. “The first person I told was my chapter Sister at Convention.” 

Her Sisters had been a lifeline for her before. Taylor joined the Epsilon Lambda Chapter shortly after her father passed away in December 2020. A full-time commuter student during the worst of COVID-19, she said, “I needed those connections. A month after Initiation, I was Vice President of Community Relations and never looked back.” 

Taylor felt embarrassed and ashamed when she was rejected from the nursing program. “I felt like I had left myself down, not only because I was rejected but because I never considered that I wouldn’t get in. I was unsure what to do next, and my life felt very chaotic that summer,” she said. 

Joi’s speech inspired her to look into other ways to help people, especially in the nonprofit space. After the luncheon, Taylor and her chapter Sister returned to their hotel room, where Taylor began to piece together what she might be able to do next. “I had never considered other routes for helping people than bedside nursing,” she said. 

What started as a conversation with her Sister led to Taylor investigating her options with her academic advisor at IU South Bend. She soon found her next steps and her current major: community health education. 

“It’s a broad field,” she explained. “But it’s so focused on helping others, doing anything from running counseling programs to working in nonprofits to doing health-based programs in schools.” 

Switching majors has allowed Taylor to find jobs and experiences outside of college. She is currently a Community Health Worker and provides health curriculums in local schools, focusing on substance abuse programs for adolescents and puberty programs for elementary kids. 

This is a massive boost to her resume that she attributes to Alpha Sigma Tau. “I was able to secure my current position by telling them about my experience as Vice President of Community Relations and the fundraising and volunteer work I organized for the chapter,” she said. 

In the future, Taylor hopes to pursue a master’s degree and a career in nonprofit management. “I want to be part of a proactive solution rather than reactive,” said Taylor. She hopes to provide preventative and supportive measures to reduce the need for intense mental health care, such as psychiatric wards. 

For other Sisters facing challenges to their academic goals and career ambitions, Taylor has this advice to offer: “Be open-minded – barriers are not necessarily the ending. Talk to someone you trust and allow your support system to care about you. And be present! Allow those opportunities to find you by staying in the moment. There are so many ways to do what you want to do.” 

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Taylor’s inspiration and vision came from her experience at a Foundation-funded event. Make inspiring speakers a reality for every AΣΤ member by donating to the Alpha Sigma Tau Foundation. Our supporters help empower women like Taylor every day.