Autumn Engels: Sisterhood

Hello everyone!! My name is Autumn Engels, I am a sophomore here at Gonzaga University. I am from Skagit valley Washington, home of the Tulip Festival if there's any flower enthusiast reading. I am a dual major of Business and English with a minor in psychology, as well as a plan to attend culinary school after graduating. To tell you a bit about myself, I am one of four vibrant and spirited daughters, and a father who claims hates being a girl dad ( he secretly loves it :) ) I have a chocolate lab who just recently turned one years old named Loper, he unfortunately is my parents favorite child, but i'm steadily second in line. I have an older sister who is a junior here this year and she is my best friend. If you are able to go to college with a sibling, I highly recommend it has been one of the most rewarding and precious things in my life. As I mentioned above, I am planning on going to culinary school. Cooking is my life passion, starting when I was just old enough to understand words. My father being the teacher and I being his sous chef, spending hours in the kitchen every week with my father learning the ins and outs, the basics of cooking and gradually moving on to making masterpieces of my own. Fun fact my admissions essay to Gonzaga was about the relationship I shared with my father and how cooking was the glue that brought us closer together. I have various other hobbies such as; reading, music, both listening and playing. I have played the flute for over nine years. As well as working on a farm and going to Seattle farmers markets in the summer to sell an ungodly amount of berries. If you ever need someone to talk your ear off about their ungodly amount of knowledge of berries and why Boysenberries are the most superior berry to ever exist, come find me, although I can promise you won't be there for two hours.

The pillar that I chose to discuss in this blog is Sisterhood, being a part of Setons and surrounded by 29 other amazing and capable women has given me a different perspective and understanding on the word sisterhood. I come from a very strong family of women, my mother taught us four girls to stick together in this world. Women are each other's confidants and resources in a world that does not always view women in the correct light. With a strong willed mother as my example and mentor I took those words to heart and strove to be a woman who uplifted and supported other women no matter what. Coming to Gonzaga and hearing about Setons my freshmen year, it was the Sisterhood aspect of it all that captured me and got me set on joining this group. Researching deeper and deeper into what it truly means to be a Seton, I realized that I needed to be a part of this incredible organization. This level of leadership and female empowerment was exactly what I was searching for in my Gonzaga experience, an outlet to live out my life long duty of uplifting and empowering women in this society. In that moment I felt that I had found a place to belong in this big scary world. Then came the application process, the grueling wait to see if I was the right fit for something that I had so longed to experience and be a part of, then the email came and my wish came true, I WAS A SETON OF GONZAGA!!! Then came my duties as a Seton, I wore that mustard yellow cardigan with pride and made sure everyone knew that I was a Seton. This year has been one of the best experiences of my life. I found a purpose on campus, I found 29 other life long friends, I found community and I found my sisterhood. From Wednesday night meetings to casual Seton mobs in Hemmingson to casual coffee dates every week, these women uplift me and show me that I am capable of anything, the love I share for this organization and the gratitude for getting this special experience in my life is something that I will hold onto forever. I will wear the mustard yellow cardigan till the day that I die to let people know that I was a Seton of Gonzaga, and I found my forever sisterhood.