A day with Irving councilwoman Beth Van Duyne is inspirational for NLC student
– By Nadia Black, Special Contributor
Photo courtesy of Nadia Black
Nadia Black (left) spent a busy
day with Irving Councilwoman
Beth Van Duyne.
In the fall semester of 2007 while taking American government, Dr. Gabriel Bach provided me with an incredible opportunity to spend the day with Councilwoman Beth Van Duyne.
I was excited that I was going to witness the inner workings of local politics and at the side of a councilwoman no less. I honestly didn’t know much about Beth before meeting her. But after spending the day with her, I have come to regard her as one of the most admirable women of my acquaintance. For me, she is a model of womanly strength and poise in public life, as well as family life.
Beth runs her own consulting firm and is a devoted wife and mother of two children. The day I spent with her taught me that a woman can successfully do it all, provided that one is disciplined.
I met with Beth early that morning at the Summit in Las Colinas. Little did I know that she had been organizing a signifi cant event for the city of Irving for the past eleven months. Ben Carpenter, the late developer of Las Colinas, was to have a bronze statue of his image unveiled in a dedication ceremony that day.
Beth had coordinated all aspects of the event, from the transportation of the statue from Tanzania, to contacting and arranging the presence of the Carpenter family and friends. Beth was attentive to even the smallest details of the private breakfast that was held before the dedication. In the kindest manner she directed the staff to make lastminute adjustments to provide for more seating. She was a true embodiment of grace under pressure. She never made me once feel like I was in the way, and made sure to introduce me to all the prominent attendees at the event.
I met so many remarkable people, such as former Governor Dolph Briscoe and Representative Linda Harper-Brown, gracious enough to invite me to sit with her at the ceremony while Beth attended to lastminute details.
One of the most fascinating people she introduced me to was sculptor Robert Glen, who despite his long journey from Tanzania, was very lively and a joy to converse with.
At two o’clock, Beth and I temporarily parted ways so she could transform into Mommy, pick up her children, make them dinner and spend some quality time with them. We agreed to meet again at sixthirty at the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Irving. We were to attend an awards dinner honoring dedicated city of Irving employees. I was really excited to actually see the inside of the Cowboys’ private club. When Beth arrived we promptly went up to the club and were seated with City Manager Tommy Gonzalez and his wife. I was introduced to Irving’s chief of police and chief of fire, city councilmen and Mayor Gears.
Witnessing Beth’s determination and drive inspired me to work that much harder at all that I strive to do. I will always be thankful to her for allowing me the opportunity to experience a taste of her hectic life for a day and for the gracious manner in which she treated me.