Senior Emilie Lemke has a resume that fills two hours of an interview. Or some might say she performs the roles of two different people entirely.
For those skeptical about the existence of a pliable common ground between sorority life and military commitments, Lemke is a case in point. She serves this year both as Cadet Battalion Commander, the highest ranking cadet officer in Duke Army ROTC, and Kappa Alpha Theta’s recruitment chair, one of the most highly regarded and most demanding positions in a sorority.
Lemke shocked even herself when she decided to join ROTC. She was a latecomer, enlisting with Duke’s battalion in her sophomore year. The sobering impact of Sept. 11 in the first few weeks of her freshman year was the beginning. “After that, I really started thinking about different things. My grandfather passed away the day we went into Afghanistan,” she said. Finding his lieutenant bars after the funeral made her start looking into different ways to serve.
Back on campus her advisor, Peter Feaver, professor of political science and member of the Navy Reserves for 14 years, spoke to her of the honor of military service. “I’ve known her since junior high, and I would not have expected her to end up in the military at that time,” he reflected. But Feaver was pleased with her decision and her progress through Duke. Having known her family through church, Feaver explained that he had “sort of informally advised her even before I was her formal advisor. One of the things I’ve been very pleased about is that she’s taken my advice even when it’s been painful, and she hasn’t pursued sort of the easy route through Duke.”
Though Lemke responds to the question of how she manages her time with a curt, “Not very well!” she seems to manage quite effectively. Her experiences in both ROTC and sorority life have grounded her in a sea of ever-conflicting commitments, and the skills she’s gained through each have woven tiny threads of influence through the rest of her time at Duke.
Through the Duke women she met by joining Kappa Alpha Theta, Lemke was drawn into participation in various efforts in women’s issues on campus. She is a founding member of the Women’s Networking and Mentoring Program, which formed last year in response to the Women’s Initiative. Coordinating a program for high school students, on-campus book clubs, and a networking website still in progress, the group tries to facilitate greater interaction among campus women. “I think that so many times, the only way freshmen and seniors interact is through sororities. I just think it’s very exclusive,” Lemke said.
Another facet of her response to the Initiative began before the report was even released, as she helped Kappa Alpha Theta prepare for the backlash the study was expected to unleash on sororities. “It’s just hard to be criticized again and again and again and again, and after a while, if you don’t address the positive things sororities and [the Panhellenic Association] are doing on campus, it’s hard to continue the motivation,” Lemke said.
She believes that rather than being a destructive force in the environment for women on campus, sorority life has a lot to offer, and that criticism of greek life is often misconstrued. At the same time, she emphasizes that sorority women are only human. “During the day we’re all very committed and liberated, but at night, a lot of times you just want to go out and have fun and forget the pressures of the day,” she said. “Sometimes that comes across as dumbing-down.”
Her experiences with ROTC have also had surprising influence on day-to-day aspects of Lemke’s life at Duke. She was required to attend a 28-day Leadership Training Camp at Fort Knox, Ken., during the summer between her sophomore and junior years as a way to catch up on the year of training she had missed. Faced with a different kind of adversity than seen in every day situations, she learned how to deal with her discomfort to complete the goals at hand.
Also, her initial concerns about her position as a woman in a traditionally masculine world were quickly effaced. Though her ROTC battalion consisted of only three women when she joined, Lemke insists that she was never treated differently from the guys. They taught her a lot, but were never condescending, she said. “I never expected it to be that simple; I expected it to be a struggle, being a female,” she added.
She has translated such lessons to other aspects of her life at Duke. Sometimes when she looks around in class, she reflects on the women she sees around her: “Their experience as a female in a male-dominated world is totally different than mine,” she said. “[In ROTC] you’re forced to respect your weaknesses. Some things males can do are a little harder for females, and you have to accept their help. At the same time, I saw my strength as well.”
Recognizing her weaknesses has not inhibited her from making the most of every chance to excel at Duke.
“She has a lot on her plate at Duke, and she’s taken advantage of so many opportunities,” said Lt. Dennis Williams, a recent Duke alum and a senior cadet above Lemke until this year. “The fact that she’s done that and still managed to be in ROTC and make that a central focus of her Duke experience is amazing.”
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