Rhoyal Rho Epsilon Chartered May 2, 1975
Mu Zeta Features....
...from Beta Alpha to Mu Zeta
The Honorable Barbara West Carpenter, PhD
21st International President
Louisiana State Representative District 63
In her words...
Shaping My Values and Beliefs an excerpt from the Finer Womanhood Anthology
"Throughout my lifetime, I can name many people who have left an indelible impact on helping me to be who I am. Some of those people are Zeta women, and others are not. As I reflect on my life and what impact these women have had on me, I must start with my very first teacher (though not a member of a sorority), my grandmother Tillie Cross West. As a primary school teacher who retired when I was born, her love of books and her teaching me to value the printed word formed the basis of my insatiable thirst for knowledge. It was this beginning that ultimately led to my desire to become an educator like several generations in my family before me."
"As I grew up, I learned the workings of Zeta from my closest friend and confidante, my mother Mildred Spicer West, who was initiated into Zeta seven months before I was born. My mother was well known for her speaking ability, which came naturally through her educational training. This was a skill that I worked hard to perfect in my adult life. Her elegant style of dress, her ability to work with people, and her calm demeanor are traits that I have tried to emulate. As a child, my first real introductions to what it means to be a Zeta woman came from the volunteering efforts that my mother was known for throughout the Baton Rouge, LA, community."
Shaping My Values and Beliefs an excerpt from the Finer Womanhood Anthology
"Throughout my lifetime, I can name many people who have left an indelible impact on helping me to be who I am. Some of those people are Zeta women, and others are not. As I reflect on my life and what impact these women have had on me, I must start with my very first teacher (though not a member of a sorority), my grandmother Tillie Cross West. As a primary school teacher who retired when I was born, her love of books and her teaching me to value the printed word formed the basis of my insatiable thirst for knowledge. It was this beginning that ultimately led to my desire to become an educator like several generations in my family before me."
"As I grew up, I learned the workings of Zeta from my closest friend and confidante, my mother Mildred Spicer West, who was initiated into Zeta seven months before I was born. My mother was well known for her speaking ability, which came naturally through her educational training. This was a skill that I worked hard to perfect in my adult life. Her elegant style of dress, her ability to work with people, and her calm demeanor are traits that I have tried to emulate. As a child, my first real introductions to what it means to be a Zeta woman came from the volunteering efforts that my mother was known for throughout the Baton Rouge, LA, community."
