One of the best stories I've come across might never make it into the media, but I feel it's worth sharing.
Each year the Office of Multi-Cultural and International Students Center does a recognition ceremony. A family member or friend presents the graduating student with a small present and says a few words. Sometimes the speeches are touching ("You're the first in our family to graduate college and I can't think of a nicer mother's day present") or funny (one husband said, I feel like I've gone to school for the past four years because I've done all the cooking). So in 2006 I heard, 'our next graduate is Carmen Superville and she will be presented her gift by her mother in law Janet McCall.' My ears picked up because I had never heard that combination of student and speaker before.
I turned to the front of the hall and saw that Carmen is a black woman in a U.S. Army uniform. Her mother-in-law is a white woman.
Janet starts talking about Carmen, saying how proud she is of her, and how much she loves her, and her only regret is that her son couldn't be here to see this, but Carmen was at the hospital every day until we lost him.
This would have been a perfect story to pitch for Mother's Day, when La Salle holds its commencement, but it was too late. Plus I didn't have the whole story.
I called Janet a few weeks later and asked her, what was your reaction when your son told you he was dating a black woman? Well, Janet said, she and her husband discussed it, but "that's the way we raised him."
I called Carmen and asked her, were you nervous about meeting his parents? Yes, she said she was, but her future husband told her not to worry: "My mom will love you, you're just like her."
The death of David did not mean the end of the relationship between Carmen and Janet. They saw each other regularly. Carmen took her in-laws to see David's grave at Arlington National Cemetery. (By the way, I asked Carmen why she joined the Army; a native of Trinidad, she's now a U.S. citizen and wanted to give something back to this country.)
Carmen earned a Master's Degree in Central and Eastern European Studies at La Salle, and she's considering pursuing a doctorate. Janet, by the way, is a published poet.
They have a wonderful story. I hope you get to read about it.
Monday, June 4, 2007
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