I’m originally from Charlotte, NC, but I’ve lived in Atlanta for almost two years.

I attend Candler School of Theology at Emory University.  I’m going into my third year there.

For my undergraduate degree, I studied Music Education with minors in Spanish language and Latin American Studies.  I’m currently in graduate school studying to get my Masters of Divinity with a certificate in Human Rights.  In undergrad, I started out with the goal of teaching middle school chorus.  However, my plans have since changed, and I now plan to be a United Methodist minister.

For me, serving others is a part of both my call as a pastor and a requirement of being a Christian.  Service to others is not just an action to perform but a way to live our lives.  The Bible consistently tells us that taking care of each other is a part of our job as God’s people, so it’s one I take seriously.  I see serving others as one of my main purposes on this earth.  Our world is a broken and often hurting place, and if I can bring a little bit of healing and hope to one person while they bring that same thing to me, that’s all I could really ask for.  Service, to me, is never one sided.  God exists always, already at work everywhere, so I try to never enter service with others from the mindset that I’m going to do something totally unprecedented or that any group of people needs saving.  From my experience, often I’m the one who needs saving and I didn’t even know it.  So, serving others is not only my call as a pastor and a Christian, but it’s a way to take care of myself and our planet.

What is the most difficult part of working at the Gateway Center?

I wish that I could personally help everyone, but we have systems in place for a reason.  Much of that reason is because the systems work.  They’re in place to help people.  However, we can’t help everyone with everything because there are some things we just aren’t equipped for.  For example, we aren’t a food pantry and we don’t house women and children.  There are programs who do those things and do them well.  But I often find myself wishing that I could personally buy someone canned goods or let them sleep on my couch.  Again, I know we have boundaries with our clients in place for so many good reasons, but it’s hard for me to turn people away or to just hand them a list of phone numbers.

When volunteer groups really get it.  Of course, we appreciate all of our volunteer groups, and they all do wonderful work for us.  We couldn’t function without them.  There are a handful of groups, though, that really seem to click with Gateway.  For some of them, they meet a special client who shares their story, and that allows them to more fully engage with what it really means to experience homelessness.  For others, maybe a simple task like making lunches or working in the clothing closet allows that reality to set it.  Sometimes groups get emotional in our debrief sessions because something they saw or did impacted them so much.  This work is something I’m passionate about, so it’s especially rewarding to see this same work affect our volunteers too.

Come with an open heart and an open mind.  Engage with the clients.  Be kind.  Be ready to learn.