Pamela Young
tion, and immediately set about “improving” the forms, processes and outreach employed by his or her predecessor. And each time Pamela would cheerfully play along and support our efforts, offer- ing only suggestions and the voice of experience – as “questioning her boss” simply would not have been proper. She would educate us on the imbal- ances and differences of the world, and the need to account for those realities in our work. While Pamela never once told us what to do, through her experience and the sheer influence of her per- sonality she had invariably kept the best ideas and passed them along to the next director, always ensuring traditions and reputation remained con- sistent.
In just over two years, we moved all of her con- tacts and processes to computers, turned her workflow into forms and checklists, typed mailing lists and adopted email, captured the unique pro- cesses that applied to various nations, and even introduced desktop publishing and expanded the magazine to 64 color pages. Not a day passed when she didn’t explain some new process to me that was essential to keeping things running smoothly, and in over two years I still didn’t cap- ture it all – those that followed were still left many tasks to untangle on their own. While everyone who knew Pam is aware of how incredibly hard she worked, those of us fortunate enough to have worked alongside her know that others only re- ceived a glimpse of her importance. Had she not given an extra two years, the Jessup would be much different today.
I am extremely fortunate to have had the chance to be the International Admministrator of the Jes- sup. I am even more fortunate to have been able to do so in Pamela’s company. Those who worked with her in such a capacity are unlikely to say that Pamela worked “for them”. Pam worked “with” us, and in many senses we simply worked for her. While orders were never given, approaches never questioned, and solutions never second-guessed, every Director who worked with Pamela was in-
evitably guided in their daily affairs by a simple guiding factor – the abject, terrifying fear of disap- pointing her, or failing to meet the standards she expected of her “family”. For many of us, by the time our terms as director came to an end the thought of disappointing Pamela was akin to dis- appointing our own mothers.
Pamela Young’s presence in the Jessup office per- manently shaped the Competition for the better in immeasurable ways. In the Jessup, She found a perfect match for her background, skills, personal- ity and strong desire to help young people work toward a more equitable world. All who met her came away a better person for the experience. Thanks in large part to her love of her Jessup, the Competition has developed what can only be de- scribed as a “soul” of its own. It will grow, and change, and face numerous challenges as it ages, but we are secure in knowing that the Jessup received its own “proper upbringing” under her careful tutelage.
While it is often said in such circumstances that the world will feel the loss of someone, in Pa- mela’s case it is undeniably true. As news of her passing spread, emails rolled in from dozens of countries, from participants spanning decades, holding positions at every level of society and gov- ernment. The flood of memories was overwhelm- ing, and every one of them happy. She was truly a global citizen, and the world is a noticably better place from her having been present in it. With her passing, the world loses a true treasure, and the Jessup loses as close to a matriarch as it will ever have. I can, without hesitation, speak for all who knew her in saying “Thank you, Pamela, for ev- erything. You are widely loved and will be deeply, deeply missed.
And fare thee well.”
*Brett Lorenzen, Jessup Administrator 1992-1994, with thanks to Jonathan Clark Green, Jessup Administrator 1987-1989, and on behalf of all who were so privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Pamela Young.
. ILSA Quarterly » volume 20 » issue 4 » May 2012 91
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