Lighting the Path

For over twenty years, I had the opportunity to work with college students from various backgrounds. Prior to that, I was an active volunteer in the community, ranging from service as a Girl Scout troop leader to a tutor at a local library. Even though it was my responsibility to provide these individuals with resources and services, I was always amazed at how much I learned from and was inspired by them. Because of the nature of my roles, I was often privy to personal information that they shared with me in confidence. To this day, I honor their trust in me.

Although I will never reveal personal accounts, I can share that many of these individuals faced obstacles that were similar to those that our children face. Some never knew how they would pay for tuition and books from semester to semester. Others lost parents or family members to tragic illnesses, car accidents, or even domestic violence. Still others were children of drug addicts, alcoholics, drug dealers, or other convicted criminals.

What was interesting about some of these individuals is that many of their peers would never have guessed some of these circumstances. I cannot tell you how many times I was shocked by personal accounts that I never would have guessed. On the flip side, some of these students were written off because of what people knew about their backgrounds.

In either case, I feel fortunate to be able to witness their success stories. Every day on social media, I am reminded of how these individuals overcame numerous obstacles. I see them with rewarding careers and beautiful families. More importantly, I see the ways in which they are giving back to the community. Although there are people who feel they know the profile of a successful student, these success stories are proof to me that there is no standard profile of who can achieve.

Yet there are many children today who feel they do not fit the profile of successful people. Because of their circumstances, they do not see education as a possibility. It occurs to me that we have opportunities to share our stories with our young people. And although we do not all come from situations such as those I shared, those of us who have made it through education had to come through something.

Instead of just lecturing to our children about the possibilities, we have an opportunity to share with them our paths– the hurdles we faced and how we overcame them. Sharing our stories is not meant as a way to show our children the paths they need to follow; rather, it helps them start imagining the possibilities for forging their own paths regardless of their backgrounds.

I am so grateful to all the former students and individuals I had the honor of serving through my professional and community work. Because they shared their stories with me, they helped light the path to my purpose. We all have the opportunity to be the light for someone else’s path, if we only make room in our lives to give of ourselves. Sometimes that can be as simple as sharing our stories.

Questions of the week

How can we as a community share our stories in ways that can reach many?
How can we change the narrative about what is considered the profile of a successful student?

Design by Trevett'sJuly 16, 2019Comment