Service

"Seek to serve." -Wendell Pierce, Loyola University New Orleans 2011 Commencement Exercise

I never really “sought to serve”. Service kind of found me.

My mother was always what I would consider to be an “involved parent.” From elementary school, she always came to open house, report card conferences, and the PTA meetings at school. She started by becoming treasurer of PTA and soon after, she became the president. I saw my mom at my school a lot. Some of my classmates thought she worked at my school. It wasn’t her job but she made it an obligation. She wanted to make sure other people’s children were taken care of as well as her own.

Eventually she began to put me to work. I’d wake up with her on the mornings of the school health fair or the annual spring fair and help out. Along with the other volunteers, I’d take out all the prizes, sweets and help prepare some of the hot food. And it felt good. I knew I was a part in bringing together the end result. I could get nachos from the food stand knowing I’d helped pour the cheese into the crock pot. I could win suckers from the sucker pull knowing I’d marked them with the dots and stuck them into the Styrofoam board.

I just liked getting things done. I could appreciate their impact. There’s no doubt my mother’s dedication to service has impacted my work ethic. I’ve been active in many service organizations in my career as a student. I’ve tutored kids and watched their grades improve, fed the hungry with Interact Club, given toys to tots with student council and by far the organization I am proudest of is my sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha. The last five words of our purpose says it all: “service to all mankind”.