SPO President Amanda Sokan PhD MHA LL.B
Fall is my favorite time of year. There is something about the changes in nature – colors of foliage, cooler temperatures, that I find irresistible! I am pleased that my first note occurs during this season of Thanksgiving – a time of year when we are reminded of the importance of stopping or slowing down and taking stock of the many reasons to be thankful. We are thankful for our organization, Sigma Phi Omega, and the many individuals (staff, students, faculty, professional members) and the chapters that constitute SPO, our partners, and other stakeholders. We are thankful, too, for the value you all add to our world.
Please take a moment to enjoy the blessings and joys of this season.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
Lauren Price LCSW-C, SPO Member at Large.
Lecturer at the Erickson School of Aging Studies at University of Maryland Baltimore County
Many causes are acknowledged by a particular month or day within our society. October is known to many people as breast cancer awareness month. The pink ribbon has become synonymous with breast cancer advocacy and support and the Susan G. Komen Foundation has done a remarkable job marketing awareness to every day Americans. For many years, the NFL displayed support by incorporating pink into their uniforms and décor during televised events in October. Can we attain this level of advocacy and spread a similar awareness around aging?
With the exception of many of us who are connected to aging, many people are not aware that the month of October holds many special days of acknowledgement for older adults. The United Nations General Assembly established October 1 st as the International Day of the Older Person. This day was identified as a way to acknowledge the contributions of and spread awareness about the older adult population. It is also a time for those of us who work with and care for older adults to reflect on ways we individually, and as a society, can promote the dignity and value that the older adult population brings.
Additionally, October 9th has been identified as Ageism Awareness Day. While ageism is discrimination based on any age, in many cases, it is focused towards older adults. Studies have found that ageism not only impacts individual’s self-confidence and mental wellbeing, it also impacts individuals physically. In fact, research has found that individuals who have positive views of aging live 7.5 years longer than those who have negative beliefs.
I challenge you, as an individual who holds a passion for older adults, to spread the word about the value our older adult population holds. How can we create a buzz around supporting older adults and condemning ageism in a way that makes the majority of individuals aware of and passionate about the work we do every day? How can we make October synonymous with the acknowledgement of the contributions of the older adults in our lives?
The work we do now to acknowledge and protect our old adult community will support our future selves. Individuals are living longer and healthier than they ever have before but the opportunities and contributions an aging population brings often go unnoticed due to the stereotypes many of us hold. We have been given this gift of longevity and it would be a shame to not acknowledge and share the gifts this population of older adults can provide. I ask you to consider what can become our pink ribbon? What can we create to provide a reminder to ourselves and others about the intrinsic value of our aging population? How can we create and support a campaign that will lift up and celebrate the older adults in our community?
Mary Ann Erickson, Pd. D., FAGHE
Sigma Phi Omega Treasurer
The Surgeon General of the United States has issued a report titled “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation 2023”. I’ll bet most of us are familiar with the idea that social connection is important for older adults, and that being socially isolated is as consequential for health as smoking cigarettes. If we work with older adults, we might encourage them to reach out more often to friends and family, or help them find ways to make new connections. If we are students studying gerontology, we might have participated in intergenerational programs that benefit both students and elders. I find in my own life as a professional that I need not only personal social connections; professional social connections have been critical to my well-being and effectiveness in the field of gerontology. Sigma Phi Omega is, for me, an important source of professional social connections, and our goal is for many of our members to find this sense of connection through SPO as well. Whatever your current role, consider your engagement with your local SPO chapter as not just a potential responsibility but also as a resource for you as you navigate your professional path.
Monica Gonzalez, MASM
Sigma Phi Omega Member-At-Large
Greetings SPO,
It is the time of the year again to drink peppermint mocha and laugh with family and friends. Christmas is approaching, and the New Year is full of renewed goals. With that said, is there
anything you want to reflect on before the end of this year? Thus, did you reach your objectives? If not, no worries, as I will have to add some of my goals from 2023 to this 2024 resolution list.
Remember to be gentle to yourself. No one is picture-perfect. Additionally, is there anything you want to change or start on for this coming year? I want to task myself in journaling once a week because I am diligent in juggling school and work. We all should try this, and I invite SPO members to try it. Being in the field we are in can become challenging, and as I get older, I am starting to notice I need a little me time. A lot of the time, we forget what is most important, and that is our mental health. Remember to take a mental breather as the world around us becomes and continues to be a 24-hour noise. Some helpful things I will do for this coming year are journaling to help with my hectic mind and medication. Likewise, there is still time to build a new healthy habit for yourself and bring the New Year with a positive attitude. As Christmas is around the corner, remember to smile at people around you, as this time during the year can be sentimental and tricky for some. Christmas can be a stressful time for some families. Something like giving someone a compliment can go a long way. I hope this new year brings everyone an optimistic and blissful forthcoming.
Happy Holidays, SPO members!
Alfred Boakye
Ph.D. Gerontology, University of Maryland Baltimore & Baltimore County
Alfred Boakye, Secretary, Sigma Phi Omega National Honor Society
Serving older adults through community service at Georgia State University, Georgia as Sigma Phi Omega vice president and later president has always been a privilege. Through this act of service, I have developed leadership skills that have shaped my perspective on aging and the aging process. As the new secretary for Sigma Phi Omega Honors Society, I see this opportunity as another step to get closer to older adults, study their unique strengths and needs, and find novel ways to help improve their health and well-being, and overall quality of life.
Attending classes and interacting with other students in my Ph.D. in Gerontology program, which started in the Fall of this year, has opened my eyes to different perspectives about aging and how older adults and the aging process are understood from theoretical, policy, and practical perspectives. This November, the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) created a unique environment for great scholars in the aging field to meet and share their unique research and connect with other like-minded researchers. These meetings are particularly important because I can present my work and learn from others. It is also a fertile ground to network with people and discuss the way forward in gerontology. I shared my career trajectory with new mentors, who gave excellent advice on how to stay relevant in the field.
Wherever we find ourselves, we need to be advocates for older adults. This is a step towards fighting all forms of ageism. If we understand the aging process and appreciate that everyone ages differently and in different settings, and understand the biopsychosocial implications of the aging process, we will become more conscious and, instead of discriminating against older adults, support them to age well. Thank you to Sigma Phi Omega for this platform to share gerontological findings through collaboration with others across the world and how best we can all support older adults and appreciate our own unique aging process.
Alfred Boakye
Ph.D. Gerontology, University of Maryland Baltimore & Baltimore County
SPO Board Member Musing
Cynthia Hancock, PhD
I’m thrilled to be returning to the Sigma Phi Omega Board of Directors as the Emeritus Fellow member. Thank you to my colleagues for inviting me to this service. Having spent several years as a Member-at-Large and President (which involves four years of service) I am very familiar with the important work of the Society and am passionate about how it can continue to operate with excellence.
Why am I passionate about SPO? I think SPO, as the only International Academic Honor and Professional Society in Gerontology, is uniquely positioned to recognize academic excellence, professional dedication, and faculty commitment to the field of gerontology. Gerontology, as an interdisciplinary science, depends upon the contributions of educators and practitioners to do the important work that we do but to also train the next generation to do this work. Additionally, I am more and more convinced that every career field, not just those we typically connect to gerontology, can benefit from having someone onboard with gerontological expertise. Think of the school teacher who could offer a gerontologically informed 100th day of school celebration. And the banker who can create a comfortable space for navigating financial decisions in late life. Or even the Journalist who is in a position to present balanced and realistic images of older adults and aging.
Because older adults are everywhere, I truly believe gerontology is relevant in all walks of life. SPO is the perfect organization to bring together scholars, practitioners, and learners to work together to create gerontologically informed spaces.
I’m so happy to be back. Let’s keep up the good work together!
Cynthia Hancock
Director, Gerontology Program UNC Charlotte
Teaching Professor, Sociology
SPO Board Member Musing
April 2023
Mary Ann Erickson
As the calendar approaches Tax Day, many of us are thinking more about where our money is going. As you prepare to file your taxes, you may anticipate a refund or dread an additional payment. For many of our members, this is also the season to renew your SPO membership. So in the spirit of the season, I’d like to tell you a little about our organization’s finances. As a non-profit organization, Sigma Phi Omega doesn’t need to pay taxes but we must regularly file paperwork to keep our status current. Our income comes from membership dues and from the purchase of honor cords and medallions; this income makes it possible to us to offer annual awards for student papers and service projects. Our other expenses include website support, the purchase of honor cords and medallions as well as postage and packing materials. While all of our board members are volunteers, we do have a part-time paid administrator who maintains our records and makes sure that everyone gets their certificates, pins, honor cords, and medallions. In most years, income and expenses balance fairly closely.
This behind-the-scenes work, however, just supports the real purpose of SPO, which is to bring together and recognize academic and professional achievement in gerontology. So while I definitely encourage you to both pay your taxes and renew your SPO membership, even more importantly I encourage you to become or stay involved in your local chapter so we can do our real work of helping create a better world in which to age.
