The National Conference for College Women Student Leaders leaves everyone involved — not just participants — with inspiration and motivation to accomplish anything we are passionate about.
One of the most uplifting parts of the conference for me was being able to listen to the experiences of the life-changing keynote speakers. Traditionally, the conference speakers are women, but this year the audience was inspired by the work of Kirk Johnson. A male speaker? I thought. At a women’s conference? That quickly changed as I started to listen to Johnson and his incredible story.
Johnson said he did not start off with the intent to be a leader; he was just doing what he felt was right. Helping Iraqis resettle in America, which is the work Johnson does, is a controversial topic. Johnson, however, is not helping just any Iraqis but ones who were allies to Americans. These allies face persecution and even death if they are caught helping Americans. Iraqi allies have risked their life to help our country and, for that, Johnson has dedicated his efforts toward helping them find safety and security.
Listening to Johnson speak, I started to reflect on my own life. Johnson said, “We don’t get to pick when the challenges come in our life. How we shape who we are is how we handle those challenges.” This statement was empowering and simplistic at the same time. People come across obstacles all the time in their lives that shape who they are and who they become.
Johnson said he couldn’t have told you why he was doing what he did but after reflecting on his life, everything made sense in retrospect. If life does not make sense at the moment, think about how you got to where you are and the experiences you have had. This will then tell you why you are where you are.
The most important advice I took away from Johnson was his comment that “if you stick to what you are passionate about, it’s hard to go wrong.” Passion is important in finding true happiness in what you do in life. If someone is passionate enough, he or she can accomplish anything. Even if it is just little steps toward the big goal, every form of progress feels like success when you have passion guiding your path. I realized that where I am today has everything to do with passion. My goals and what I want out of life surrounds my passion to help others.
Johnson helped a room full of young women realize that they can do anything they want. This motivation could have come from a women or a man, but I think it added something special to have a man support the efforts and goals of women across the country. Johnson had put aside his professional life in order to help others. This has to be one of the most selfless acts. He found passion in helping Iraqi allies find safety. I am inspired by Johnson to follow my own passion in life and do what I feel is right. How can you go wrong when you’re following your passion?
Entry was written by Danielle Howard, NASPA Graduate Intern.
In these times of great economic need, it is critical that we all step up to address the issues that are directly affecting our communities. For this reason, President Obama has launched the United We Serve initiative to provide us with tools to volunteer efficiently and effectively in our communities, whether we donate a few hours of our vacation to a soup kitchen or a few hours each week to mentoring a child.
Government can only do so much, and non-profits have been hit with a double-whammy of increased demand for services and decreases in charitable giving. It is up to all Americans to work together to tackle challenges of raising each others self esteem, and help to make our world a better place for all.
Globally, a group of us have been Pass It Forward Volunteer Online Mentors (www.aunitedworld.org/mentor.asp). To join us, find other opportunities to serve, or even create your own opportunity, visit http://www.serve.gov.
The Pass It Forward Movement is the world’s largest mentoring (acts of kindness) movement. Our volunteer mentors http://www.passforward.org are helping one person at a time find their purpose so that they can develop their passion into their own PIF program. One by one, every person http://www.aunitedworld.org/programs.asp and organization http://www.aunitedworld.org/movement.asp is creating their own PIF program based upon their gift. Everyone has a gift! What’s yours?
For a free analysis, please go to http://www.passforward.org and enter the chat room. Again, it’s all free, and you will never get any unwanted emails. It’s our way of passing it forward!