Fae Monroe

What principles guide you through life, and how has your work at Soka shaped these principles?

“There is a varied list of things that I use, both consciously and subconsciously, as a template to help to navigate life. These things are essentially my guiding principles. While I have many, some of the more notable ones include the following:

• Recognizing that the best person to seek affirmation from is the person looking back at me in the mirror.
• Learning to be comfortable in my own skin.
• Being mindful and grateful for the things that I have, and recognizing that (oftentimes) the idyllic things may seemingly have little value.
• What I do can be far more important than what I say.
• Understand the need to get up when I fall, and realize that the lesson isn’t always in the fall but the response, and the growth that ensues as a result of the fall.
• Recognizing the need to choose to be happy.
• Embrace the day and, as my grandmother would often quote, “never wish time away.”

“Soka has been my home away from home for nearly two decades. In that time, I’ve had an opportunity to get to know, and work with, a multitude of people. My personal growth has been enhanced by those relationships and will continue to allow me to fulfill both my personal goals as well as to mirror the growth that Soka continually seeks. I feel that the recent addition of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is helping to enrich Soka students, staff, and faculty and will be helpful in providing guidance to our community to seek strength from within, recognize our value, and do the right thing. I’m hopeful that we will be able to continue to make strides and use our strengths, learn from our weaknesses, and take appropriate action to continue to propel forward and achieve continued greatness.”