Here is the answer to Why do I do what I do.
By Corporal Willy, Dec., 12th 2010
To answer that question I have to resort to being maudlin for a minute. I work with kids, because a million years ago I used to be one and I went through some really hard times at home. A really good teacher took me aside and bothered to ask me what was wrong and I guess it was really showing on me. He heard my story and then again took the time and helped me sort it out and put things in perspective from an adult point of view which I could not yet see on my own. I was only about 14 back then. What that teacher told me was worth its weight in gold and it solved the serious problems I had back then. That teachers name was Mr. Jerry Como and yes it was Perry Como’s brother who was my gym teacher back then in Hempstead High School, Long Island, New York. Thanks Mr. Como.
I will never forget that advice he gave me and in a similar way I am keeping that advice going today with a new generation of young Americans. I do this now with my talks to school children from the early grades levels up to the high school years. I am proud to belong to a really nice bunch of people that are doing this in our “PAYBAC” group, where we talk to the kids in their classrooms. That acronym stands for Professionals and Youth Building a Commitment and we are a part of the Community Partnership Program here in Las Vegas. We each take a class that is studying a subject that we would like to focus our talks on. We are composed of judges, policemen, salespeople, scientists, beauty pageant winners (not me), engineers and retired people (like me). I worked in the electrical construction industry for many, many years, so I could write a book on what I have seen but I only have forty minutes with the kids. Somehow in that short time period I have to try and convince them on how important it is to stay in school and learn as much as they can. This is not an easy thing to tell young people that do not have enough life experience yet to know how important their school years are. But they are our future.
I wasn’t very good at this when I first started out because there is a learning curve for sure. But I soon felt at ease talking about the things I have done and accomplished in my 67 years. However, that alone is not enough to get the point across to young students. Then it came to me one day. I would act out in silence, various jobs until someone in the class could call it out. I act out jobs like digging ditches, washing windows, emptying garbage cans, mopping and polishing floors and even cleaning toilets in rest rooms. After they have guessed all those jobs (about 10 of them) I surprise them by saying that I have done all of these jobs to provide for my family. I ask them if they would like to do those “honest working” types of jobs too. Their answers are pretty much expected. Those jobs are dirty, smelly and hard on the back and they normally do not pay well enough to get ahead in life. I also tell them that they will all be guaranteed those jobs if they do not get a good education NOW. After I made up my own mind to go back to school and it was kind of late in life (24), I applied for and was accepted into the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; IBEW and after five long years of apprenticeship training I became a qualified Journeyman Electrician. Then things changed for my young family and me. We were so much happier because things were getting so much better financially and we had medical benefits, a retirement pension and a savings plan. I loved to go to work it was exciting.
Then I keep going in my talks by pulling out different hats that I have worn from a tote bag that emphasize different times in my life. First was my US Marine Corps Cap, then a construction hard hat, after that my SolidWorks hat which is something I like to teach to young people, an Engineering.com hat that I can happily say I write some article blogs for that go around the world and finally a Cheers baseball cap from the TV show. I could not find another one that could better depict that time in my life when I was a real live entertainer and sang to audiences. I even made money doing it. Each hat is a different time in my life and an accomplishment too. Every hat came with its own set of problems that had to be learned before proficiency was obtained. “Education is the key and it will get you where you want to be” and I preach that to them.
Now many would ask why would you want to do this as a volunteer? Getting up early, getting dressed, putting out the garbage cans, cleaning up after the pets and running out the door to get to the schools anywhere in the district so you can deliver your talk. Bye the way this is the 5th largest school district in the USA, Clark County Nevada. Sometimes we must drive over long open spans of desert to get to these schools. Well folks, I really have no answers to that question. Instead I will just share with you these messages mailed to me from just one class of kids this year.
Maybe this one young man down below here will be an engineer someday because I might have helped to inspired him. I can bet my last dollar that donating my time is worth it. It is the most valuable thing I have to share with them. I always leave them with this one aphorism that I tell them their teacher will explain to them after I leave. “Never put a wishbone where your backbone ought to be.” Have a wonderful Holiday Season.
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