Betsy Crumly Finds Her Spirit of Benedict
May 3, 2024
Betsy Crumly, a graduating senior majoring in nursing at Mount Marty University, has been awarded the school's Spirit of Benedict award. Crumly won the award after submitting an essay concerning the University's four core values of Awareness of God, Community, Hospitality, and Lifelong Learning and how these characteristics have impacted her life.
Crumly wrote her essay on her experiences at Mount Marty with love of Christ and neighbor, humility, discipline, and community in mind. “I wanted to share the legacy that Mount Marty has given me and the kind of family that I found here,” says Crumly.
Mount Marty was thought to be Crumly’s first step toward her eventual goal. “I had just assumed this was the next step,” Crumly writes, “something to check off the to-do list to get me one step closer to starting my career - plus I heard they had a pretty good nursing program.” But, Crumly found so much more at Mount Marty, including “beauty in the niche characteristics of Benedictine Catholicism.”
From the tradition of how every class and meeting starts with a prayer, to having impromptu philosophical conversations about ‘God moments’ with peers and Sister Rosemarie, Love of Christ and neighbor is found across campus, Crumly expresses in her essay. Love was in her classmates and professors as they celebrated her triumphs and losses, and she knew she would be welcomed with open arms if she was in need of some support. “I will strive to offer Christ’s love,” Crumly writes, “to all those that I encounter - whether that be at work, home, the grocery store, or to a stranger on the street.”
One of the core values, life-long learning, also makes an appearance in Crumly’s essay as she writes about the Benedictine Hallmark of humility. “In my time at Mount Marty,” Crumly writes, “I have also come to believe that learning begins when we have the humility to admit that there is something that we don’t know.” She explains when you live this mindset, your life is filled with opportunities.
To take advantage of these learning opportunities, though, Crumly mentions that discipline is a useful tool. She utilizes discipline to avoid procrastination with assignments but also to schedule time for selfcare, including the occasional nap! She is very active in theatre and only missed participating in one show in her four years at Mount Marty. Theatre was also where Crumly met her fiancé. She also enjoys taking time to walk her dog, baking for her business, Betsy Bakes, and singing and playing her ukulele.
Lastly, Crumly attests to the effect Mount Marty’s community had on her. She writes about how Mount Marty fosters a sense of belonging, and from opportunities she found in theatre and Catholic leadership, she will always welcome others into companionship.
Crumly plans to work at the Children’s Hospital in Omaha as a float nurse after graduation. She sees practicing the value of love of Christ and neighbor in the nursing field especially. “I think nursing is a work of compassion. And it's important to treat every patient the same way regardless of their situation.” She also sees herself incorporating the hallmarks and core values in her care for patients and families once she graduates and caring for the family as a whole.
She concludes her essay saying she will be leaving a piece of her heart here at Mount Marty, “but I know that these Benedictine attributes are ones that I will cherish.” She hopes that her classmates and she go onto live these hallmarks, and is grateful to have found the Mount Marty campus that was originally just a check on her to-do list.
Mount Marty University - a tiny, Catholic campus on the riverside bluffs of South Dakota. Close enough to home that I can visit when I miss it, but far enough away to be my new home for four years. When I enrolled at Mount Marty, I was finishing my senior year of high school locked down in my bedroom during a pandemic. I had just assumed this was the next step, something to check off the to-do list to get me one step closer to starting my career - plus I heard they had a pretty good nursing program. That was about all I knew. All of the things I just mentioned were true, but I was not prepared for how much more than that I would experience at Mount Marty.
I was raised Catholic my whole life - a cradle Catholic if you will. So arriving at Mount Marty, I assumed it would be a similar experience, but I quickly found the beauty in the niche characteristics of Benedictine Catholicism. From day one, I saw that the Mount Marty core values, two of which are direct Benedictine hallmarks, were not just something displayed on the outside of the Welcome Center. Hospitality, Community, Lifelong Learning, and Awareness of God are alive on this campus and they run deep in the blood of all those that I have encountered here. Though I could speak on all ten of the Hallmarks of a Benedictine Education, here are the few that have touched me the most and that I know I will carry with me after I leave this place.
Love of Christ and Neighbor
“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart’. This is the greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22: 30-34
The love of Christ is evident on this campus. Conversations regularly end with “Well, God bless you,” classes, meetings, and events begin with prayer, and of course, we are connected to the Sacred Heart Monastery where the sisters' faith and routines are integrated into campus. It is not uncommon to find yourself in the middle of a deep theological conversation over lunch, or sharing the graces, or ‘God Moments’ as we call them, that God has shown you that day with Sr. Rosemarie in her office.
In his rule, Saint Benedict urges us to share love freely with all whom we encounter. (RB 4: 1-2) I can say whole-heartedly that this was apparent throughout my time here. I was surrounded by people who celebrated my successes and mourned my losses. Whether it was a peer, a professor, or a campus ministry leader, I knew that I could knock on a door with teary eyes and be welcomed in with a warm embrace.
This is an attribute that I will miss dearly, and one that I hope I can provide for others as I move on from Mount Marty. I will strive to offer Christ’s love to all those that I encounter - whether that be at work, home, the grocery store, or to a stranger on the street.
Discipline
“Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.” Proverbs 10:17
It is safe to say that my time on Mount Marty’s campus was busy. My day was usually scheduled from sunrise to sunset, and then some. And, let’s be honest, any time that wasn’t officially scheduled, was taken advantage of for a nap. As a freshman, this seemed daunting, but I quickly learned the value of a planner and the importance of discipline.
I thrived on being busy, and participating in my passions; but these would not have been possible without the discipline that I learned here. I found it to drive me to not procrastinate; if I had a free hour, it would be used to complete my homework so that I could spend the rest of the night in rehearsal.
I also found the value of discipline outside of school/work. I found it just as vital to schedule time for self-care - whether that means completing homework so that you can spend the evening with friends, or as you can probably guess, taking that nap. I learned to not see these activities as a waste of time; they make life worth living. Going to walk the path by the lake with your best friend, in my opinion, is more productive than any assignment that needs to be turned in that week. This is not to say that you should be all play and no work - this is where we must find that Benedictine balance that is so often talked about here. Discipline is a practice that I will continue to value and incorporate into my life and career as I move forward.
Humility
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” James 4:6
Living life humbly is a beautiful opportunity. When we face the fact that we are but one piece of God’s creation on this Earth set here for whatever purpose he gives, we see the world through a new lens. A perspective that proves that the individual is not the priority, but our role in His plan is. We cannot accomplish much by fighting to be the center of attention or proving ourselves better than one another; when we see ourselves as one piece of a whole is when life truly begins.
In my time at Mount Marty, I have also come to believe that learning begins when we have the humility to admit that there is something that we don’t know. If we lower ourselves to the fact that we can never know everything, this only leaves opportunity for knowledge to be gained. A popular quote that I’ve come across sums this up better than I can articulate; it reads as follows: The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.” When this mind set is embraced, a new world can be unlocked for you; your daily life becomes full of opportunity. As I embark on new adventures outside of these walls, I wish to lead a humble life.
Community
“Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate even with people of lowest position.” Romans 12:16
I will be forever grateful for the communities that I have built here at Mount Marty. This place fosters a sense of belonging and companionship, and in a world where it is so easy to become an outcast, this is invaluable. Thanks to opportunities I have had in organizations like Mount Marty theater and Catholic leadership, I will always strive to welcome anyone who walks through the door and provide them a sense of belonging, no matter the situation. Whether that be something as small as eating lunch with someone who is sitting alone at work, or being the shoulder to cry on when someone is feeling alone, I hope to offer companionship to all that I encounter and provide the same sense of community that I have experienced at Mount Marty.
As I move on from Mount Marty and leave the riverside bluffs and evening lake walks in the rearview mirror, I leave a piece of my heart here, but I know that these Benedictine attributes are ones that I will cherish. I pray that myself, and everyone I have encountered during my time here, centers their life around these hallmarks. I will forever be grateful to God that I ended up at the tiny catholic campus that I was just checking off my to-do list. Thank You.
Works Cited
Chittister, Joan D., and Benedict. The Rule of Benedict. St. Pauls, 1992.
Holy Bible. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Ed. DCE NCCCUSA. 1971.
“Top 10 Quotes by Michel Legrand: A-Z Quotes.”AZQuotes.com. Accessed 10 Mar. 2024.
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ABOUT MOUNT MARTY UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1936 by the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery, Mount Marty University is South Dakota's only Catholic institution of higher education. Located along the bluffs of the Missouri River in Yankton, with additional locations in Watertown and Sioux Falls, Mount Marty offers undergraduate and graduate degrees focusing on student and alumni success in high-demand fields such as health sciences, education, criminal justice, business, accounting, and more. A community of learners in the Benedictine tradition, Mount Marty emphasizes academic excellence and develops well-rounded students with intellectual competence, professional and personal skills and moral, spiritual and social values. To learn more, visit mountmarty.edu.