"I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and learned how to serve."
--Albert Schweitzer
While growing up in the Arkansas Delta, my parents, preachers, and teachers agreed on one thing above all else: education is the engine of opportunity for individual success and the transformation of the Black community. So fierce was their belief that it became a rallying cry and a major source of motivation for those of us willing to listen, believe, and commit ourselves to the pursuit of educational excellence.
In all honesty, doing so was not easy! Like most of my rural, poverty-stricken schoolmates, I was tempted to quit school and get myself a good-paying job driving a tractor. I also considered joining my cousins who had left the rural south for jobs “Up North,” working in the automobile, steel, or other manufacturing industries, where little formal education was required, and where even a custodian could earn several times more than a seasonal farm worker, sharecropper, or subsistence farmer. 
Dr. Charlie Nelms
Although it has been more than seven decades since I fully embraced the values and beliefs advocated by my parents and other adults who played a prominent role in my life, I am delighted that I did. Simply put, the message my parents and teachers sought to convey to my generation was the importance of both doing well and doing good. Thankfully, my bias notwithstanding, I believe I have successfully managed to do both.
