Both my parents are the foundation of my focus on service, my
cultural curiosity, and my holistic outlook on life’s experiences, and losing
them in recent years was the most jolting life event that still influences
every decision, interaction, and thought throughout my everyday
existence. This is an experience in which I lost everything, and
consequently I learned to rely on the promises of hope, faith, and love to
re-build my personal and professional life and put the pieces back together.
MOM
MOM
In the earliest parts of my career development, my mother guided
my professional perspectives. Despite the tremendousness of her 2009
battle with cancer, that experience cemented my commitment to building bridges that enhance the quality of life for those in
need. The pinnacle of my mother’s career was launching a church school
in 1989 for underprivileged youth in our community. When I was of
college age, she tapped me to participate in grant-writing, and that endeavor
was my first introduction to fundraising. I constantly think of the
guidance that experience offered in shaping my perspectives of philanthropic
giving, uplifting those around me, and sustaining my community. Mom's commitment to service is the bedrock of my professional
calling, and I am to uphold in creative ways around the
world.
DAD
Some years later, in 2015, I learned that my father was suffering from terminal cancer. I had just entered a new season of returning to normalcy after my mother’s passing when this equally devastating burden entered my life. After moving through the difficulty of losing one parent, I had a strong sense of what was in store as I anticipated the loss of my father. I recognized and accepted that my role was to support my father and create joy at every occasion possible, as that was how he nurtured and cared for those that he loved throughout his entire life.
Some years later, in 2015, I learned that my father was suffering from terminal cancer. I had just entered a new season of returning to normalcy after my mother’s passing when this equally devastating burden entered my life. After moving through the difficulty of losing one parent, I had a strong sense of what was in store as I anticipated the loss of my father. I recognized and accepted that my role was to support my father and create joy at every occasion possible, as that was how he nurtured and cared for those that he loved throughout his entire life.
The past seven years have rested on my ability to adjust and grow
despite these massive losses. While I know the circumstance of
losing my parents will never get easier, I know that life gets better, and that it does...each and every day.
One of my favorite scriptures is taken from Proverbs 22:6, and it
is “Train up a child in the way she should go, and when she is old she will not
depart from it.” This has been my guidepost both professionally and
personally, and I am proud to uphold this adage in my parents’ honor.
