A couple weeks ago, I faced a dilemma. All day, this single worry consumed me. I fretted as if it would determine the rest of my future.

I had been asked to attend a welcome dinner of sorts with other involved students coordinated by MUSG. The idea was to welcome Fr. Pilarz and get him acquainted with some students and groups on campus. But before I could even enjoy a deliciously sauteed fish, I had a bigger fish to fry. What was I supposed to wear?

Desperate for answers, I considered those who had come before me, particularly Brian Harper, the columnist who previously occupied this Thursday slot. After a public invitation, Brian and the Rev. Robert A. Wild shared a meal together last semester. Surely, my predecessor would have some advice.

But after careful review, I determined that Brian’s dinner was much different.

For starters, dinner was on his turf — Brian invited Fr. Wild to the house he shared with seven other senior guys on 20th and Michigan. Dinner with the Rev. Scott R. Pilarz was on the fifth floor of the Alumni Memorial Union, an area not generally frequented by students, and completely new to me.

Also, Brian’s dinner companions were his closest friends. My dinner companions were top-notch Marquette students: the Marquette Student Government president and vice president, members of organizations like Campus Ministry and the Residence Hall Association and editors of student publications, among others, many of whom I was unfamiliar with.

As far as what to wear, Brian was lucky enough to have recently obtained the fashion must-have of last semester — a black T-shirt with a yellow sweater-vest and clerical collar outline inspired by Wild’s own game-day apparel. Not only did I not have a shirt that mirrored the new president’s style, but I wasn’t even sure if I could have picked Pilarz out of a Jesuit lineup, let alone emulate his wardrobe.

Normally in such predicaments, I turn to my personal stylists for fashion advice, but not one of my roommates was home. So I scoured my closet in solitude, eventually deciding on a flowery, knee-length navy skirt, beige blouse and nude heels. Satisfied and almost on time, I rushed out of my apartment and speed-walked to the Union.

I was about halfway there when I realized I should have been less concerned with what I was wearing, and more concerned with what to say to the man in charge. I mean, dinner with the president? I should have been prepared. This was an honor.

Suddenly intimidated, I stopped about a hundred yards from the Union in sheer panic. The little research I’d done on Pilarz since he was announced as president told me he was a professor of early modern English literature, an East Coast native and a fan of Bruce Springsteen.

Knowing not a single 18th century poet offhand, and never having been to Jersey, I relied on my extensive knowledge of the Boss’ greatest hits album to calm my nerves.

As it turned out, I didn’t have to awkwardly work in lyrics of “Born to Run” for conversation to flow.

In case you didn’t already know, Pilarz is cool.

Pilarz is completely approachable, whether it is meeting freshman during McCormick move-in, after the first all-school mass or in the halls of Campus Town, where he lives among upperclassmen.

In his homily at the Mass of the Holy Spirit, Pilarz spoke about getting to the “heart of the matter” this school year. He said that in order to really learn and grow as Marquette students, we must explore the depths of the subjects we are studying. Meanwhile, he would be working to learn the depths of the Marquette community in his first year here.

Before dinner, I was so worried about frivolities that I neglected to think about what the dinner actually meant — that Pilarz is a president for the students. He wants to get to know us.

My suggestion is that you let him. Say hi to him when you pass on Wisconsin. Chat him up if you see him in the Brew. Maybe invite him to dinner in Schroeder.

I bet you won’t even need a column for him to wholeheartedly agree.