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Okay, Calvin and Pam. Yes. I'm Vernon. I worked with the Humanities Truck. We have questions. Feel free to give input. Okay. If you you know, give what comes to your mind. It is a like a loaded question, but everyone has something they have worked on in their life. What is something valuable you have contributed to and can share with others? When thinking about the work you have done in your life, thus far, what are you proud? What can you point to? Me? Well my shirt, it says Black Fathers Matter, but it's a little more than that. Growing up as a black man, I'm proud that I've been able to help and Mentor young, men and young ladies as out going on. But that's always a big thing to be able to do to give them some things to talk. Someone to talk with would also be able to guide them because everybody's different. Yeah, I was blessed enough to find my, help find my children's niche where they could fall into and all of the fallen to something thats been very productive themselves. I'm proud to say that I've hope some other younger folks do that. Helping others is my big thing in life.

00:02:10.700 - 00:03:53.100

Helping others. Its very important. I've got three. We got three. He does matter. And I'm, you know, I'm listening to what he said. I'm a piggy back off. I'm a server. I'm most proud of being able to serve other people. By profession, I'm a registered nurse. Oh, you are an essential server. Yeah, and I went to school here for nursing, at Howard University. Graduated 31 years ago that's how long I've been nursing. But I'm proud to teach others to serve. Because 2005, I started my own business and now I am running a nursing agency teaching others what I am proud to do. I always tell my employees, I can't teach you to compassion and has to come real, I can teach you your clinical skills you might need. I can't teach a commitment needed. So I'm proud to serve other people. My pastor always say before you become a real leader, you also have to be a follower. So I kind of follow, but lead also and, you know, and I do that with my children and my personal life as well.

00:04:10.200 - 00:08:56.500

[Inaudible] You have to be teachable. Its a special gift. Like what you said with mentoring. You can teach some young man that patience and calming, I'm here but I have my moments too. But you have to teach them that you will have those times. But you have to pull it back. Sometimes it's tough love, sometimes it is compassion. You just have to hopefully learn something about them. Teach them about their surroundings and help them move to where they are. You know, not all the kids that I've mentored and taught from broken homes. That's a myth. Not all kids in my class are from great homes. That's a myth. So you got to take each one, young ladies and young men, as they are where they are and try to find out where they can fit in. Where are you going to get, where they can allow themselves to figure and process from that? And then be able to give back. So you teach somebody to give themselves and also teach them how to give back. Right. And that is so important because I try to get young people to see [inaudible] I have eight kids. My oldest one he was referred and mentored others from 16 to 42. He helped people find their niche. [inaudble] That's part of, that's part of something spiritual has to drive something within. We talked to someone who felt down and "why am I doing this now if I'm trying get to here." One of the things I say is, all you tomorrow's begin today. All your tomorrows, everything you looking for and trying to do starts now and starts today, in this moment right now. [inaudible] to get to where you want to go. You have a goal. What can I do today to put me a step forward towards those goal? What can I do today to help change my mindset, my attitude towards things that will help me get to that next step. That's that's all a part and you gotta help them find out what that spiritual part of that is. What drives them. Something drives you, whether its your past or the reach for your future, you know, with your involvement today. Something's driving. So lets find that drive. and help you move forward, keep going.

00:08:56.500 - 00:10:14.250

[inaudible] Not just the men but young ladies too. [inaudbile] They want to set you up on a on a mountain saying here you can have all of that. Did you climb that mountain to make it up there or did someone put you up there and make you fall off. There's a difference. Someone put you on a pedestal to knock you off or did you do to work and climb up there there yourself? And you had a secure feeling of getting there so you could stay there.

00:10:14.600 - 00:13:18.520

[inaudible] Whats inside of them? Who made and created them? One of the things, we used to own a business and kind of thought I was thinking about this mug that I used to have and that's a coffee mug, and says "believe and achieve." That sounds like its corny before but you really have to instill in young people. It starts here. You got a see it and believe. You say it is not spiritual. But you got to see, you know, before I started my business, I had to see myself there. Before I was a registered nurse, before I was anything I had to see it. And when you believe in yourself, number one, and believe in yourself because like you say, you believe in yourself and believe in your goals and believe in who you are and know who you are, anyone can come around and snatch you and take you to that other... That's what you talking about. [inaudbile] The cost is not always monetized.

00:13:18.520 - 00:14:30.050

[inaudbile] The greatest businesses started with no money. Right, he has his own buisness, I have my own, I can atest to that. They started from nothing. Well they started with a thought. But you have to believe in it you have to see it.

00:14:30.050 - 00:16:55.880

[inaudible] So what would you say at this point, what would you say is your greatest achievement and going forward? One of my greatest achievement is love. Love for my children that I am, they still look up to me, even though its a pandemic a lot of people are talking about loss, we are people are staying strong. All three of our children, they are different, in so many ways. I am just glad that I can be here for them and stand and still run my business so I think I have achieved that. Talking about financial, I'm still hanging in there. But my kids, I think that is my greatest achievement and to mentally still be strong. I want to help them understand that education is continuous. You may get a degree, but education is, life is education, you are continously learning. You continue to grow. When you get to a point wherethink you stop learning, [inaudible]. You can always teach somebody. Never too old to teach, never too young to teach. You're never too old to learn, never too young to learn. Always something to be taught and you can always give back to somebody else as a teachable moment. You never know when you are going to touch someone else's life. Or someone might touch yours. If you are always trying to learn and looking for that next thing to add to your repertiore, more knowledge, life will always be planned for you. Wonderful wonderful, always gotta be open. [inaudible]