To Be The One

When I returned to college in 1993 to complete my bachelor’s degree, I was already very aware of my business acumen to assist in the start-up and development of organizations and its value to burgeoning entrepreneurs. My subsequent marriage to an entrepreneur and move to Rhode Island, where I pursued training with the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center while also serving on the senior management team of a company that I co‑founded, further solidified my faith in my abilities. Also, during this time, I began to research the social sector with the intent to establish a philanthropic organization, wherein I could apply my knowledge, skills, and abilities to help those in need. This quest has led to the "Third Sector" journey that I am still on today, and an inner peace and professional satisfaction that cannot be quantified. As an experienced grant writer and someone that is involved in the conceptualization and development of programs to benefit the social sector, I am constantly reminded of local, national, and global issues, and their impact and implications on society. 

In many ways, I did not choose my areas of work. Rather, they chose me, or more appropriately, God chose them for me. I simply surrendered my will to that which God would have me to do. As a result, God leverages my competencies to impact my community, this world, and my fellowman for good. In addition to my current work, I believe that I shall one day write literature that will examine global issues. This notion is inspired by my private worship, as well as my acute interest, deep concern, and ongoing informal research regarding global issues that pertain to poverty, food and water security, human rights, inequality, and education equity. To preface this even further, previous employment with three higher education institutions has afforded me opportunities to meet and interact with people from all over the world, and it was during one such acquaintance in 1991 that I met a gentleman from the African nation of Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I worked in close association with this person to acclimate him to the area, serving as his personal liaison, research assistant, and professional proofreader. He had previously worked as a high‑ranking cabinet member under President Mobuto's regime but was stripped of his wealth and forced into exile due to his compassion for his fellow countrymen. This acquaintance was the catalyst that sparked my interest in global issues, rekindled my resolve to complete my college degree, and set the stage for my professional and educational pursuits.  

At the core of my being, I am an overcomer. At the age of 17, I entered into my first semester of college. During this time, I became ill and my physician advised me to withdraw from school, which I did. However, hoping to overcome this setback, I continued with my studies the next semester but my health further declined. Not wanting to concede failure, I refused to withdraw but was unable to keep up with my studies. Therefore, what should have been a great first year in college had somehow turned into a disaster. At that time, this was the biggest disappointment of my life and, emotionally, I was in anguish over this, but God stepped in as only the Almighty God can do and gave me the will to rise from the ashes. Upon my return to college a year later, I had an outstanding year. However, after working a summer job in government, I accepted a full-time position. Over the next few years, I took classes intermittently in hopes of completing my degree. It was not until 13 years after I had first entered college that I returned full-time with a staunch determination to finish what I had started. Why? Because my eyes were set on the horizon and my heart yearned for what God could do through me to impact someone’s life, and I knew that I needed to prepare myself educationally. Now, I can boldly attest that in my many years of living and life pursuits, God has given me the strength to succeed in every endeavor that I have undertaken.  I am convinced that this is largely due to challenges and obstacles that God allowed me to face, possessing an enduring faith in God and nothing more than willpower, perseverance, and my personal convictions.  Even when I did not have the sense to know that it was God who was leading me, He had compassion on me and gave me the victory to overcome. And God’s Word is a living testimony in my life, in that it is just as it reads in the Bible, “…tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character, hope” (Romans 5:3-5). I have learned that in the midst of my life’s valleys, God was, is, and always will be the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know that I am who God says I am, and I can do what God says I can do. "[I am] more than a conqueror through Him who loves [me]” (Romans 8:37). “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). My hope will always be in God. 

Today, I stand on the horizon of the best days of my life, where it is my belief that I have come to an intersection in my life of understanding, compassion, and passion. Consequently, it is at this intersection that all of these things have collided to forge a path of consciousness that leads me to extend a helping hand to my fellowman that will have eternal impact and implications. Therefore, through my work, I hope to inspire people to look beyond the world as they know it and to aspire to understand the world as it really is. That is, we are all interconnected and should be willing to extend to our fellowman that which we too deserve and as so stated in the Word of God, “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise” (Luke 6:31). If so, we shall all reap the rewards of a better humanity. 

Will you be the one…to extend to your fellowman the compassion that God extends to each of us?