{"id":2883,"date":"2004-08-12T09:21:11","date_gmt":"2004-08-12T15:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/speeches-dev.byu.edu\/?p=2330"},"modified":"2021-03-15T10:47:14","modified_gmt":"2021-03-15T16:47:14","slug":"using-role-help-others","status":"publish","type":"speech","link":"https:\/\/speeches-dev.byu.edu\/talks\/carr-krueger\/using-role-help-others\/","title":{"rendered":"Using My Role to Help Others"},"content":{"rendered":"
I appreciate the opportunity of being here today. Many of the defining experiences of my life were obtained here at BYU, on what I believe is hallowed ground.<\/p>\n
What an honor it is to serve this university and the students it graduates.<\/p>\n
In April I shared with the graduates an experience I had while I was a student on campus. Today I would like to share a more recent experience to emphasize how BYU continues to influence me\u2014long after my formal education has ended.<\/p>\n
Call it a \u201cmidlife crisis\u201d or just searching for meaning in my career, but I was recently struggling with finding purpose in my work. As part of my normal practice I attended our monthly BYU Management Society luncheon, organized by dedicated alumni in the Seattle area.<\/p>\n
The speaker that day, Edmond Lee, is a successful entrepreneur and the fourth of 13 children. He related the following story:<\/p>\n
In the late 1960s Dad supported our family by working full-time at Boeing during the daytime and delivering newspapers in the early morning. He would rise at 3:45 a.m. to work the paper routes, return at 5:45, eat a quick breakfast, then drive us to early-morning seminary on his way to work. There was little time for rest. In addition to overtime work and the day-to-day demands as father of a large family, he spent two evenings per week serving as a stake missionary.<\/p>\n
Dad\u2019s modest income somehow met the family\u2019s needs. However, by 1969, with three children serving full-time missions, two in college, and eight to follow, additional income was needed.<\/p>\n
About this time there was advertised an opening for a part-time janitor position at the institute of religion building. It required evening work three nights per week. The Seattle economy was slow, so there were numerous applicants, all waiting in line for a chance at the job. Dad didn\u2019t feel confident in his chances.<\/p>\n
However, during his interview the institute director didn\u2019t ask the typical questions. Instead he simply asked Dad to explain the circumstances of his life.<\/p>\n
Upon hearing of the 13 children, the paper routes, the church service, and the added financial obligations of missions and college, to Dad\u2019s great surprise, he was offered the job on the spot.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the institute director made special arrangements to make the job a family affair. Instead of Dad toiling alone late in the evening, we would often work there as a family and do the job in an hour or less. Not only did it take less time, but the chance to work together served to teach us responsibility and to strengthen our family.<\/p>\n