I walked into the Admissions office after giving a tour to three families on Thursday March 30th. Lydia Cyrus had been the first to welcome the families only an hour and a half earlier, offering them waters and quickly making Union feel like a comfortable place.
She greeted me with an equally welcoming spirit as I entered her office to begin her interview.
Lydia Cyrus is a Union Social Work alumni who has spent her first year of post-graduate life working as an Enrollment Counselor. Though she is passionate about Social Work, Cyrus knew she wanted to take a job outside of the field for a few years before returning to school to achieve her Master’s degree in pursuit of becoming a counselor.
The principles of Social Work have carried over well into the work Lydia does as an Enrollment Counselor.
“One of the things about Social Work is you are trained in working with people and identifying the needs in their life and how to help bridge the gap from where they are, to where they need to be,” Cyrus said. “In my line of work, I still do that in a different way. It may not be food, clothing, or shelter, but it is the need of going to college and figuring out how to get there.”
Cyrus worked for the Admissions Office as an Ambassador since her sophomore year of Undergrad.
“I grew a lot as a student through the leadership opportunities I had and the ways the offices poured into me,” Cyrus said. “The skills that I have developed and the growth that I have had spiritually have been in large part due to the Admissions Office, Student Life and Engagement Office and the University Office of Ministries. One of my favorite parts of Union is the community and that is something that was formative in my decision to stay.”
Many people chose to move far from where they graduated college, either taking large-city jobs or moving back to home towns. Cyrus chose a different route.
Staying in Jackson was an intentional choice, but being so close to the student life she was no longer a part of in the same way created the opportunity for challenge and discontentment.
“Postgrad is a different season of life, adapting to the changes and the newness of being out in the real world as a real adult,” Cyrus said. “Having this community around me has been really encouraging. In a lot of ways, it has been weird to transition out, but I think it has been easier being in Jackson than it would have been somewhere else.”
Cyrus lives with three other women she graduated with including one of her college roommates. She closely works with Makayla Baker, a Junior History major who serves as Lydia’s assistant.
“Working with Lydia has been an absolute blessing,” Baker said with great enthusiasm. “She’s an encourager, a supporter, a Godly friend and mentor, and overall wonderful Enrollment Counselor.”
Baker continued on and on to explain how striking Lydia’s joyful outlook on the world is and how encouraging it has been to her day-to-day life.
“I didn’t know Lydia before this year, but I will say I have seen a lot of growth in the past year of getting to know her,” Baker said. “Since it’s her first year as an Enrollment Counselor, I think she’s learned a lot and it’s been really cool getting to witness that and learn from her.”
“People ask me all the time ‘Do you miss being a student,’” Cyrus explained. “Yeah, I miss parts of it, but it is more weird as a transition than hard. Weird in that I used to be these people. I used to do what they do all the time and now I am not. I think some people’s responses can be to grieve that, but for me, I can see that my life is different now and that is ok. It is just a different season of life and it is sweet to have my friends that are a little bit younger than me and still be around their community while also creating my own community in Jackson.”
Cyrus is deeply involved at Calvary Baptist Church and has had older women pouring into her. Your twenties can be a challenging time, but thanks to the love and advice of caring individuals in Cyrus’s life, she was prepared to face this changing season with a mindset of gratitude.
“A lot of times change seems like a bad thing for humans and we think of it as hard, but I have realized that I have such a beautiful life the Lord has given me,” Cyrus said. “I have prayed to be where I am right now. I have prayed for the gifts God has given me right in this very season, and I think we are always tempted to look to the next thing.”
Lydia Cyrus blooms where she is planted and soaks up every moment of each season. She will never be a Union undergraduate student again but she is living in her twenties, working with her friends and encouraging prospective students. One day this will be the season she looks back on, but for now, she is simply full of graditude.