This month I had the honor and privilege to meet 6 amazing high school seniors. I was asked to be a part of the team to choose the recipient of the Feigenbaum Scholarship. If you do not know who Armand and Donald Feigenbaum are I have included the link to their foundation so that you can learn who these brothers were and the amazing work they have done to give back to the communities that have given them so much. These gentlemen are the definition of what honoring dignity means as they are true dignity warriors.
I want you to know what it has meant to me to be asked to be part of this opportunity. Since I have taken on the role of Chief Diversity Officer, I have had the opportunity to meet great people in my community. I am humbled by the fact that people would think of me to be a part of something so important as awarding a scholarship because it is a moment that can change the course of someone’s life, and I get to be a part of that. These moments are what I will value for the rest of my life.
These 6 high school seniors were not just stellar students (all in the top 10 of their class), but they were athletes, held jobs, and volunteered their time to help others. It was in those 6 conversations that I continued to learn more and more the value of honoring and connecting to dignity. They all have gifts, and they took the gifts that they had and shared them with others. We tend to think of young people as self-centered and that may be partly true because as you are growing you should think about yourself and the kind of person you want to be but as I have been out in the community I have come to learn that not only do they want to better themselves but they want to create a better world for others. Am I seeing things through rose color glasses? It is possible but all too often we hear what is wrong with the young today. Well, today I am going to talk about those who are doing things the right way and inspiring others to follow.
I could write a chapter on each of these amazing people. I would want to discover what the secret is to their success and the obstacles they had to overcome. I know they are only 18 years old and have so much ahead of them but in talking to them they had the wisdom of someone much older. They understood the value of hard work and of giving back. I was not even close to that mentality even in my thirties (SMILE). For this post I want to focus on the person we chose to be the winner of the scholarship.
It was a difficult decision, but we could only choose one. I will not share the name of who we chose but I will tell you what impressed me most about them. She told us a story of being asked to tutor other students who were struggling. She said the teacher would tell her this student is failing the class and needs help. She told us she just thought the students needed to learn the same work ethic she had and because they did not that is why they were failing. She soon learned by talking to the students she was helping that often it was life circumstances that presented challenges. She said as I began talking to the students I was helping I was able become a better tutor and they became better students. She learned to put aside her biases and learned to open her heart and mind in order to help others. Dignity at its finest.
When we presented her and her mother with the scholarship, I gave her a copy of Dr. Donna Hicks PhD first book Dignity: Its Essential Role in Resolving Conflict. I told her that this book has been the guiding light for me in my journey to become a better person. I told her she was so much farther ahead than I was and that I hoped she finds the same life changing moments that I have found as I learned how to honor dignity.
I want to say thank you to those six students who reminded me about the value of honoring dignity, and I want to thank the Feigenbaum Scholarship committee fo letting me be a part of this amazing experience.
Charles Redd RN
Dignity Freedom Fighter
Dignity Freedom Fighter 