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Expert Judging
Just like so many others in the world, I spent much of the past weekend watching the Olympics. I am not a big sports fan, but my husband and son both are, so every so often I would look up from the book I was reading to watch bicycle racing, swimming, synchronized diving (say what?), beach volleyball and gymnastics. While I do enjoy the events, it is the human interest stories that really capture my attention. The parents in the stands who can't watch and cover their eyes, or mirror every move their athlete is making, the stories of past losses and triumphs, of illnesses and injuries that have been overcome, of what it takes to reach those dreams of glory.
One of the stories that struck me, is that of LoLo Jones, 2012:USA U.S. Indoor Champion and 11 time All American.. Born on August 5, 1982. she attended eight schools in eight years while her single mother, Lori, often held down two jobs to support her family of six. Lolo's father spent most of her childhood in the Air Force and later, in state prison. In third grade, the Jones family settled in the basement of a Des Moines Salvation Army church. During the summer when day camps were offered at the church, Lolo would wake up early to avoid being teased by other kids if they found out she was living in the basement. When her family was about to make another move, Lolo told her mother "Mom, I can't go to a city that doesn't have a track. I'm trying to pursue my dream." Lolo and her family parted ways, and she lived with four different families during high school.
During her junior and senior years, she lived with the family of Marilyn K. Hauk, MPH, and her husband Randy Essex. Hauk and Essex already knew Jones through the Des Moines Area Youth Track Club. Knowing that she showed such tremendous promise, they asked Des Moines Youth Coach Phil Ferguson if they could help. They became part of a community that nourished her, which included teachers at Roosevelt High School making sure that she put together the right classes to be ready for college, a Des Moines orthodontist enhancing her winning smile by reducing the cost of her braces, Des Moines attorney handling paperwork pro bono to assure she was covered by health insurance.
You are probably wondering what judging has to do with a hurdler, and this is where the story gets personal. LoLo's story reminded me of Liz Murray, and her Homeless to Harvard story and I wondered how many young people are living in our midst with Olympic sized dreams and no way to attain them. I know that I see teens and young adults on the streets, hanging out, directionless and looking for trouble. There it is... the judging. We all do it. We see children living in poverty and we think "that child doesn't have a chance". We shake our heads and move on with our lives.
Then we hear of stories like LoLo Jones and Liz Murray and how the help of one or two people made all of the difference to them. Our "Expert Judging" is often wrong. Many of those kids will make something of themselves. They may not become Olympic Athletes or Harvard graduates, but they will find jobs and have families and overcome the generational poverty they were born into.
United Way of Goodhue, Wabasha and Pierce Counties is proud to support many of the organizations reaching out to kids, helping them toward their Olympic sized dreams and teaching us to not judge or disqualify them based on superficial observations.
Who knows, perhaps a champion is living in our midst!
Maureen Nelson
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