Hospitality is kind of a big deal. As a school with classical roots, we should probably begin with a nod to the ancient Greeks. Nothing could bring down lightning from Zeus faster than being a bad host. On the flip side, being a good host was a handy way to survive devastating floods and then get transformed into really awesome trees, a la Baucis and Philemon. In another classical example of hospitality's importance, Odysseus probably would've failed to return home without a warm welcome from his loyal swineherd Eumaeus.
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| Baucis and Philemon |
In addition to its prime position in the classics, hospitality gets the spotlight in the Bible as well. In Genesis, Abraham and Sarah welcome angels into their humble home. As a reward for their hospitality, they are able to have a son, even at their advanced age. In all of these ancient examples, the hosts do not know the true identity of their guests. It doesn't matter. Their charge is to be hospitable and welcoming to anyone and everyone.
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| The Hospitality of Abraham |
These ancient concepts of hospitality have made their way to us in 2022. In Disney's latest movie Encanto, the hospitality of one character, Julieta, gives her healing super powers. Back in the real world here in Nashville, we work to preserve the ideal of "southern hospitality," a kind of super power attached to this region. Luckily, at MBA we have someone who has been serving as the archetype of hospitality for 20 years. Right alongside Baucis, Philemon, Eumaeus, Abraham, Sarah, and Julieta you can put our own Ms. Susan.
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| Ms. Susan |
Each day in the dining hall Ms. Susan welcomes the boys with much more than a meal. Her engagement with them as they make their way through the cookie break line or to the panini press shows her genuine care for them. When young alumni come back to campus, they often lament that their college dining experience doesn't measure up to what they had at MBA. That comparison has little to do with the food and plenty to do with the welcoming environment that Ms. Susan creates.
You can attempt to measure the impact Ms. Susan has made over the past 20 years in some quantitative way like the total number of cookies she's served (
as we've done here) or some other way, but nothing quite does the trick. As for thanking her? We'll certainly do our best to keep her safe from floods. We're not sure about getting her turned into a tree, but maybe we could plant one in her honor. For now: We love you, Ms. Susan! Thank you!