During my years as an educator I encountered so many young people. They kept me going in a profession that is not always kind. Whenever things became especially challenging my students reminded me why I had chosen a career so fraught with frustrations. There have been so many souls who sat in front of me, some of them seemingly lost and others filled with promise. Over the years there were certain individuals who stood out from their peers. They possessed certain qualities of intellect and determination that convinced me that they were destined for success. One of those people was Shaun Wilkins.
My instincts told me as soon as I met Shaun that he was an extraordinary young man. He possessed a look in his eyes that spoke of his intelligence and unyielding curiosity. He was a reflective soul who was unwilling to simply accept pronouncements on face value. Shaun demanded to know the truth, for he was a natural born critical thinker. I also noted that Shaun Wilkins was driven by an unwavering sense of justice as well as a strong faith in God that tempered the way he viewed the world. He was never content to simply walk away from situations that he believed were unfair. He was instead inclined to want to affect positive change in the world and to fight for what he thought to be right.
Shaun graduated from KIPP Houston High School in 2010. He was headed for Tufts University in Boston and filled with a sense of great excitement. I was not at all surprised that he had been accepted to such a prestigious school. It seemed a perfect fit for his interests and outstanding academic background but the good Lord had other plans in mind for him. During his freshman year events unfolded that required him to return to Houston to help with his family.
Shaun never complained about his fate. Instead he shouldered his responsibilities like the man that he is. He found a job and did what he knew that he must do. He reassessed his options and once his world calmed down enough he entered Wiley College in Marshall, Texas, an historically Black private school dating all the way back to the nineteenth century.
Once he had resumed his education there was no holding him back. With the support of his family, the grace of God and his own resolve, Shaun Wilkins graduated this past Saturday with a degree in Sociology. Photos of the event that he posted on Facebook show his profound happiness. I so wish that I had been there to celebrate with him. I make it a point to attend the commencement exercises of my former students whenever they invite me and Shaun had requested the presence of many of us who had been part of his academic journey. Unfortunately three prior commitments prevented me from being present to watch Shaun triumphantly walk across the stage. Nonetheless my thoughts and my love were with him all day long. I know how hard he worked to achieve his goal and how earnest he has always been in wanting to understand how our society works and how he might help to make the changes needed to make our world a more peaceful and just place in which to live.
I have little doubt that Shaun Wilkins will be a positive force in our midst. Shaun has not been shy about sharing the credit for his accomplishments with his beloved family He fully understands how much they have sacrificed to always support him in his efforts. He is also vocal about his gratitude to God who stood by him even when his road seemed dark and lonely. He has not forgotten the teachers, the friends and the many people who walked with him if only for a brief time as he triumphed over the obstacles that seemed to incessantly block his path. We all watched him overcome the odds so that he might show the world that he is indeed the gifted man that I always thought him to be. Shaun’s own words speak volumes. “I have always been proud of my heritage; but to become a black man with a degree in a world that says we’re less than is an honor all its own. I take none of this for granted and none of it for myself. I give all honor to God because if it were all on me, I would have been down and out 4 years ago. I’m thankful my limits as a man are not His.”
The speaker at Shaun’s ceremony told the graduates that they have the power to achieve their goals. “You don’t have to wait for your ship to come in. You can build your own ship.” These are fitting words for a young man who has never let any setback hold him down. Shaun is ready to sail away into adventure.
My heart is filled with joy for Shaun Wilkins. He has demonstrated that life is about persistence, flexibility and a willingness to make the best of disappointments. He is more than ready to assume his place in the world, and I will continue to watch his progress with great anticipation for it will no doubt be glorious. Congratulations, Shaun. This is only the beginning. I can’t wait to see your story unfold.
I am not among the wealthiest people that I know but if I compare myself to the entire population of the world I am indeed rich. I never achieved fame for the work that I did and none of my blogs have gone viral. Mine has been a rather quiet life, mostly routine and average. On the other hand if I were to consider the quality of the friends whose company I have enjoyed I would have to admit to being blessed beyond measure. It is in the people who have crossed my path and stopped to share extraordinary moments with me that I have become a woman of distinction. Perhaps there is no more interesting and accomplished person among those with whom I have shared a cup of tea than Seng-Dao Keo. 
The annual frenzy known as March Madness is now over and a new national championship team wears the crown. The tournament comes by its frenetic name quite naturally because year after year virtually anything might happen as one college battles another. Unlike football that has become somewhat predictable and mostly the domain of universities with large amounts of money to spend, basketball is a sport that is still open to even small somewhat unknown schools. Whether public or private, it doesn’t seem to matter because as the minutes on the clock tick down nothing about the ending is ever certain. More than one Cinderella team has scored a victory in the final seconds making the game
On Saturday evening the voice of Siri guided me through familiar territory as I drove over streets slicked by a mixture of dirt and precipitation. A fine mist coated my windshield making it difficult to drive. The route brought back dozens of memories as I traveled along the 610 Loop and exited at Long Drive and South Wayside. The synapses in my brain were popping with remembered stories as I drove across Griggs Road into Pine Valley, a neighborhood that had briefly been my home. I breezed past Telephone Road and looked to the right at the area where my first apartment had once stood. On down South Wayside I recalled visits to a school where I observed teachers as part of my college degree plan. A slight curve changed the road to 69th Street and I thought of shopping on Harrisburg Boulevard and long remembered trips for ice cream after visits to my grandmother’s house. I continued on past Canal Street and Navigation where I longed to make a left turn so that I might once again be at Grandma Ulrich’s home where my aunts and uncles and cousins would be gathered or should I say compressed inside a tiny space filled with so much love. Finally I turned onto Avenue R and rolled past a row of houses so much like the one that had protected my mother’s immigrant family as she and her seven siblings grew into adults. My journey that night was like a microcosm of my family history compressed into a half hour memoir. As I turned into the parking lot of Templo Bethel, my destination, I felt a spiritual kinship with the young man that I had come to honor. 
My recent journey has been about family, history, roots. It is only fitting that I would find myself standing in the middle of Notre Dame University in the middle of my travels because almost fifty years ago I made a personal decision about that place that would alter the direction of my life. As I have visited the locales where my ancestors once lived and worked I have reflected on the choices that they made that eventually led to me and my brothers. At Purdue University I thought of all of the forces of the universe that gave me my grandson, Andrew, and then brought him back to the place of his birth. Each of us has a rather amazing story if one really thinks about it. From the very beginnings of time the world has been moving toward the destinies that we call our lives. 
All It Takes Is A Little Love 