How to Build a Selfless Legacy: Alayna’s Leadership Journey

When Alayna was a senior in high school, she prayed every day that God would provide her with Christian community in college.

Feeling a strong call to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Alayna entered college with blind faith, trusting that God would provide. He quickly answered her prayers with a knock on her door and an invitation to an ice cream social, where she experienced immediate connection and welcome. 

That pattern continued at her first InterVarsity Bible study. After experiencing an exciting new way to study Scripture, Alayna was invited to dinner by another member of the group, Kaitlyn. They connected quickly and became fast friends, leaving Alayna convinced she had indeed found a place to belong. 

That year, Alayna decided she wanted to grow in her ability to connect with people and find community. But little did she know that God would shape her into a powerful leader who would create community for others. 

Known Right at the Door

Throughout her freshman year, Alayna’s involvement in InterVarsity grew deeper, and she was soon apprenticed to become a leader. She accepted multiple leadership roles her sophomore year, including being on the chapter’s executive board, leading a Bible study, running the chapter’s social media, and more. Though she didn’t feel entirely qualified, Alayna was determined to help freshmen feel welcomed the same way she was. 

One of the leadership roles she least expected to fill was being an emcee for large group gatherings. Considering herself awkward, Alayna wasn’t sure how she felt about being the “face” of InterVarsity…until she learned the role was much more than that. 

“I realized that being an emcee is another way to make people feel welcomed. You're one of the first faces that people see when they enter large group, so I wanted people to know that I was happy to have them there,” she said. “I wanted people to have that experience where, right at the door, they’re known.”

Alayna applied this same mentality to the Bible study she led. Though she was terrified each week that people wouldn’t come back, Alayna made invitations freely, and God consistently brought so many people to her study that she couldn’t host in her dorm like she originally planned. 

One consistent member was a student who lived on Alayna’s floor. During a conversation, he admitted to Alayna that he wasn’t always motivated to come to Bible study. What kept him coming back was the fact that she wanted him there.

Today, that student is leading a Bible study himself. 

“When invitations kept being made to him, it showed him that he was noticed and cared about, and so he kept coming,” Alayna said. “And now he’s an integral part of ministry here at InterVarsity.”

Self-Sustaining Community

Wanting to prioritize fostering community, Alayna learned how to build her small group around meeting people’s needs, desires, and time. 

“I’ve realized every year that it’s less about me and more about making space for people. It’s not just me creating this community; it’s all of us creating a community and shaping it together,” she said. “I want to be a leader that will fall into the background of my community.”

One day during her junior year, she was eating dinner with her Bible study members when she had to leave early for worship practice. Two hours later, Alayna texted to check in and discovered that they were still hanging out. She took this as a sign that she had done something right.

“Even though I left, that didn’t matter,” Alayna marveled. “They had their own community that they were able to sustain.”

Seeing this happen encouraged Alayna every week. Because of the space she created for them, her Bible study members made it a habit to hang out before, during, and after Bible study. It wasn’t unusual for them to be together for five to seven hours at a time.

A Selfless Legacy

As a senior, Alayna confesses how hard it will be to let go of her InterVarsity community when she graduates. However, she’s confident that her work will continue through the other students she’s discipled.

In fact, she’s seen three of the students she discipled become leaders, some of whom are even discipling others.

As she looks toward her future, Alayna is excited to apply what she learned about leadership to her future career. She plans to be a teacher, where she can build welcoming, safe, and uplifting classroom communities where the next generation can learn and grow. 

As for InterVarsity, the work God did through Alayna will linger at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater for years to come. 

“Legacy is definitely an important part of InterVarsity, and it’s like a selfless legacy,” Alayna said. “It’s not about how I can be remembered. It’s like, ‘How can the mission I’ve started be continued after I’m gone?’”