We all have a purpose. Mine is to think outside the box, search for the hidden connections, and crea

We all have a purpose. Mine is to think outside the box, search for the hidden connections, and create global ties. As a child, my world was relatively small, yet my idea of the world was vast. Television and tourism commercials were the source of my curiosities, while writing to "pen pals" in distant lands were my realities. Consistently, I daydreamed about people and their worlds, and always, I yearned to help those less fortunate. My mom always told me, I "couldn't save the world." What she didn't realize was, in that one statement, she fed an already rooted seed from which my passion for humanitarian interest now exists and grows. Domestic and international health and humanitarian work and volunteerism are embedded in my spirit. By nature, I want to benefit humankind and the environment. I am a person not of ego or eccentricities and I harbor very few illusions about who I really am. My greatest strength is my work ethic. It is as much a matter of conscience as it is a matter of completing tasks. I am looking up from the bottom of a new ladder of success and with that comes a new and somewhat unfamiliar sense of anxiety.