Just a Thought: “National Make
a Difference Day”
By Steve Walker
October 24th
we celebrate “National Make a Difference Day,” a worldwide community service
effort. The celebration was organized by USA Weekend Magazine, together with
Points of Light, a charity which mobilizes and enables people to make a significant
difference in people’s lives.
For more than two decades, the day has been
the largest national day of community service. On the fourth Saturday of
October, millions of volunteers around the world unite in a common mission to
improve the lives of others. It was designed specifically to celebrate the
power of people to contribute to changing the world in a positive way.
I was surprised to learn recently that there
was actually a “National Make a Difference Day.“ When I reflect on my own life,
speculating if I made a difference in this world, I wonder if I succeeded. I think back on my former student’s lives, having taught in the public school system
for 26 years, and I pause.
Back then, those
students would share their dreams to make a difference, of wanting to be a
doctor, nurse, policeman, or firefighter-- to be able to literally save lives
and “make a difference.” How many La Prensa readers have at one time had those
thoughts and never expressed them to anybody?
Now that we
know there is a dedicated day to acknowledge those desires we have, we can
celebrate along with millions around the world to make those differences a
reality.
Recently one
of my former 9th graders at McCollum High School, Joseph Medina, was
elected to the Northside School Board. I ran into him at an event just before
he was elected. We reminisced and he told me I was one of his favorite teachers
who made a difference in his life. I was thrilled to say the least.
San Antonio also is the home of numerous
Latino Scholars who make a difference every day in people’s lives. Doctor Manny
Berriozabal, UTSA Math Instructor is the Founder of the San Antonio Prefreshmen
Engineering Program established in 1979. It has been extremely successful. His
wife Maria, is a former SA Councilwoman who has made a difference in her own
right. I have written on her more than once in my column.
Doctor Ellen Riojas Clark, a professor of
bi-cultural, bilingual studies at UTSA since 1973, developed summer institutes
on Latino Literature that have been very popular over the years with the Latino
community. That makes a difference in numerous student’s lives.
Doctor Henry Flores, a political science
professor at St. Mary’s University, graduate of Central Catholic and a Vietnam
veteran like myself, is also known for his expertise in voting and civil rights.
He is frequently sought out by the media for his observations on various local
races in the election cycle. I have had the pleasure of visiting and sharing a
cup of coffee with him on a number of occasions.
Although October 24th
is officially “National Make a Difference Day,” it doesn’t preclude the reader
from making every day, a day to make a difference in somebody’s life.
As always, what I
write is “Just a Thought.”
Steve Walker is a
Vietnam Veteran, former Judge and Journalist.
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