I had a really encouraging meeting (Zoom, of course) with
Global Listening Centre selection committee members to review and discuss nominees for GLC’s “25 Top Women Listeners,” an initiative designed to recognize women in academia and elsewhere who have demonstrated a commitment to their community and to society. (The list hasn’t been made public yet, so stay tuned!)

Although I serve as the GLC’s Ethics Committee Chair, this was my first experience with this particular activity, and I came away really inspired and reassured that my colleagues around the world are committed to giving back out of appreciation for all that they, themselves, have received thanks to the actions of others.

This is something I try, without getting too smarmy about it, to pass on to my students…before at Curry College and now at The University of Tampa where I am so fortunate to be able to teach as an adjunct professor in the Communication Department.

Yes, we (you, me…all of us) got where we are today partially because of our own skills and abilities. But there was also someone “out there” who was cheering us on.

There’s no price tag on this type of support. We do it because we truly believe that someone…a mentee, a close friend…is capable of succeeding and just needs a “cheerleader” to keep him or her motivated and focused.

I don’t have enough fingers on both hands to count all those wonderful friends and colleagues who were “there” when I was absolutely ready to throw in the towel and give up. And I can only hope that, over time, I have in some way conveyed to each and every one of them my heartfelt thanks.

This is what keeps me going today as well, as I hope it does you. Don’t kick off your shoes and sit back with a self-satisfied “well, that’s taken care of” mindset. Look around you. Where else can you lend a literal or figurative hand? Giving back doesn’t have an end-date. It’s a lifelong commitment that, in the process, delivers you even more rewards.

As I say time and time again, “Let me know how I can help you.”