To me the greatest gift we have is the potential to help the next generation succeed. As parents that comes naturally, but how do we channel that drive once our kids are on the way, ready to make their own choices with the hope we have provided the guidance for them to make the decision that’s right for them.
Campus Bound Scholars give us the opportunity to help in a small way with the challenges students face with going through college without, in many instances, the backup from home that many of us may have had. Whether we offer insights from our life’s experience, the experiences of our children in college, or from what we may have gleamed from our professional lives, or merely being a non-parent ear to a host of questions of comments from our mentees, its something we can offer.
Probably the most rewarding experience in my life was making the connection many years ago between the director of the Hispanic Federation in NYC and a young man in the south Bronx whose father would occasionally assist myself or a friend in odd jobs when not in prison. His own life he knew was ruined, but he wanted more for his son. I met his son, I had been doing some legal work for the Hispanic Federation, made the introduction, and soon he was working part time at the Federation, his grades in high school dramatically improved, he saw there was a future, and the Federation saw a talented young man that needed an opportunity. He went on to graduate from St. John’s University, and ultimately became a key player in the Federation.
You can make a difference in a life, and that difference will spread through the next generation of those who we may help in ways we may never appreciate.
CBS, through all their efforts, provides us the opportunity to make a difference.
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