#cgiu2023

On reflection: Last Sunday, @johncooper4nashville, Bill Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton gave me the opportunity, along with my fellow @cgiuniversity students, generous Vanderbilt students, wise mentors, and illustrious leaders, to participate in a @pencil4schools event at @vanderbiltu and @vanderbilthhh to create school supply bags for children in the Nashville, TN area. . These hand-assembled kits contain the essentials to support students not only in the classroom, but also equip them with a superpower… they contain the faith, trust, and love of the community and Pencil family that assemble them. A pencil alone can take notes— but a pencil with purpose can move mountains— and as Vanderbilt’s motto proclaims, “Dare to Grow”. . Pencil was one of three organizations celebrated by the Clinton Global Initiative this year at their annual meeting. It was an honor to be a part of their mission, and put a pencil and some extra strength into a few young ones’ hands. . . . #UnboundedLaw #Lightwithoutflame #PeacePin #cgiu2023 #cgiu #vanderbilt #vanderbiltuniversity #vanderbiltpeabody #daretogrow #pencil4schools #superpowers #nashville #nashvilletennessee #volunteer #give #soar #empower #gogetit #changemakers (at Vanderbilt University) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpoTwnHJYbz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

On Reflection— after this year’s annual @cgiuniversity conference held at @vanderbiltu. . I met on my flight home the giving, humble, and light-filled Holly, who was making small crocheted octopi from her plane seat as we flew from Nashville, Tennessee to Dallas/Fort Worth Airport in Texas. I complimented her sweet creations, and she proceeded to tell me that she makes them to donate to hospitals for NICU babies— who searching for the comfort of their mother’s umbilical cord, pull from their bodies wires and tubes while at the hospital. The octopi are given to the premature babies, who hold and pull the tentacles of the octopus given to them, which provides them with the comfort for which they are searching. The design and practice according to Holly began in Denmark a few years back. She buys supplies from @friends_and_co._quilt_shop, in Cody, Wyoming in honor of the Benjamin Smiles project, celebrating the life of Benjamin James Mollett, and in support of those battling pediatric cancer. . Although I protested, she gave me two octopi— one to give away and one to keep. I decided to give one to my local hospital if they did not already have such benevolent creatures already (as Holly is looking to find new hospitals to where she may donate octopi), unsure of where the other would belong… . On my connecting flight home to Santa Barbara, the gentleman boarding ahead of me and I began to discuss our journeys, when he told me his wife had given birth 10 weeks early, and that he had been unexpectedly in New York City for months, while his young one stayed in the NICU. I suddenly found the second octopus’ home and purpose. He accepted the octopus with glee, asking me to thank Holly with deep sincerity, confirming that his child had attempted to remove life-saving tubes and wires in the NICU. . Everyone has a story and a cause, and can be a bridge to people and their purpose. . . . #UnboundedLaw #PeacePin #LightWithoutFlame #cgiu2023 #cgiu #law #justice #airplanemagic #magicoftravel #travel #octopus #octopi #crochet #crochetoctopus #preemieoctopus #preemie #preemiestrong #preemiemom #nashvile #nashvilletennessee #tennessee #texas #dallasfortworth #love (at The Sky) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpiiBsxvPQu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Thank you @cgiuniversity for capturing the moment! I met Humphrey Fellows and Fulbright Scholars Ms. Munia Mozumder of Bangladesh and Mr. Frederico Fernandes Cabral of Timor Leste, who are studying at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College and volunteers at the event yesterday evening. They are dedicated to building stronger bridges in education, so that all may pursue and attain it. I am very grateful to have met these leaders and changemakers; I hope our paths will meet again. . . . #UnboundedLaw #PeacePin #LightWithoutFlame #CGIU2023 #CGIU #vanderbiltuniversity #vanderbiltpeabody #fulbright #fulbrightscholarship #education #peace #inspiration #dedication #changemakers #nashville #nashvilletennessee #buildingbridges (at Vanderbilt University) https://www.instagram.com/p/CpXqq_6sefs/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=