Youth Leadership St. Louis...Where Are They Now?
Eric Greitens, International Humanitarian, YLSL Class of 1991

Duke and Oxford University graduate. Decorated Navy SEAL. International humanitarian. Award-winning documentary photographer. White House Fellow. Nonprofit founder and chairman. At age 33, St. Louis native and Youth Leadership St. Louis graduate Eric Greitens has accomplished more personally and for the good of humankind than most of us can imagine doing in a lifetime.

Now after working around the globe, Greitens has decided to come home, bringing his knowledge, connections, and passion for social justice back to St. Louis.  Through the Center for Citizen Leadership (CCL) which Eric opened in spring 2007, U.S. military veterans nationwide are receiving opportunities to work in rewarding leadership roles in the civilian workforce.

As a humanitarian volunteer and documentary photographer, Greitens has worked in Croatia, Rwanda, Zaire, the Gaza Strip, Albania, Cambodia, Mexico, Bolivia, and India. His doctoral research at Oxford was driven by his humanitarian work in war zones, and his thesis, Children First, investigated the ways in which international humanitarian organizations can best serve war-affected children.

Greitens graduated from Parkway North High School and then attended Duke University where he was recognized for his outstanding leadership potential and commitment to public service. As a United States Navy SEAL officer, Greitens deployed four times. His military leadership led to honors including the Combat Action Ribbon, the Purple Heart, and the Bronze Star. A prestigious one-year term as a White House Fellow followed on the heels of his military service.

With his top tier education, military accolades, humanitarian accomplishments, and the vibrancy of youth on his side, Grietens could have taken a top paying position anywhere in the world. Instead he came home to St. Louis to found the CCL. It was time to come home, said Greitens. I wanted to put the knowledge Iíve gained to work in service here at home. St. Louis has great energy. The people here are warm, hardworking, and they are all willing to pitch in to help out in the community.

It might sound trite, but coming from a man who has been intimately involved in both military and humanitarian efforts on several continents, it becomes meaningful. Greitens took his own money earned on military tours of duty and started the CCL. The idea came to Greitens when he returned from a tour in Iraq. He saw that fellow soldiers were not getting properly placed into jobs and had trouble integrating back into civilian life. With the help of many St. Louisans who have rallied to Greitensí causeóand charismatic yet humble personaóthe center has been awarding fellowships to wounded and disabled veteran and getting national press coverage.

Eric gives Youth Leadership St. Louis a lot of credit for putting him on the path that has taken him around the world and back home. Youth Leadership St. Louis was one of the first programs that helped me to identify my own strengths. It taught me that my effectiveness as a leader was tied to my depth of understanding.

A regional leader who has been deeply touched by Ericís work has been Harlan Hodge, owner of Imagine Videos, LLC and a long-time facilitator for Youth Leadership St. Louis. Together, Hodge and Greitens went through Youth Leadership St. Louis and attended Parkway North. Today, I still consider him a brother, said Hodge. One might say that we are accountability partners. We challenge each other to be better.

Hodge believes that the CCL positively impacts not just veterans but the people they will now serve through the centerís fellowships. The men and women of our Armed Forces deserve an opportunity to continue their service here at home.  The CCL is providing that opportunity.  This is important work for our country and a great service to our veterans.

With the center up and running, Greitens is primed to make a significant service contribution in the St. Louis community and across the nation.

Eric has recently written a book centered on the humanitarian ethic titled Strength and Compassion which is now available through several outlets. For more information on the book, visit www.StrengthandCompassion.com

Youth Leadership St. Louis Where Are They Now? Gianna Shockley, YLSL Class of 1991

Gianna Shockley attended the FOCUS St. Louis Holiday Open House in December 2006 at the request of her fiancÈe, Leslie Farr, a member of FOCUSí Bridges Across Racial Polarization program. Not until that evening did Shockley remember that she had an association with FOCUS dating back to 1990. It turns out Shockley is a graduate of FOCUSí Youth Leadership St. Louis (YLSL) program and is still very grateful for her experience after all of these years.

For me, YLSL was all about exposure I received the opportunity to meet many of the areaís stakeholders. My fondest memory was the day we spent visiting area mayors and touring East St. Louis and St. LouisI also spent the night in a homeless shelter, said Shockley. It was difficult to go home the next day knowing that the little boy I met the night before was still sleeping in a room with strangers. The challenge of that experience was trying to figure out what I was supposed to do with this new knowledge.

So what did Shockley do? Now in her mid-30s, Shockley has chosen a path of political activism, social work, and volunteerism. Youth Leadership St. Louis definitely fueled my love of politics. It gave me an opportunity to work on one of Mayor Schoemehlís campaigns, said Shockley. Since then, Shockley has completed a masterís degree in political science and plans to go on to pursue her PhD in political science within the next three to five years.

For now, her commitment as a full-time AmeriCorps volunteer keeps her very busy. Assigned to Loyola Academy of St. Louis, Shockley serves the Roman Catholic Jesuit institution in many different capacities. The goal is to help the boys enrolled as middle school students to overcome their economic or social circumstances so that they will succeed with a college preparatory course load when they reach high school. I have the opportunity to work with some of the brightest young men in this area. Seeing them excel academically and grow into responsible young men has been a pleasure to watch, said Shockley.

Shockley is in the process of creating a mentor program staffed with school graduates. Getting to know our graduates, seeing their drive and desire to succeed has been wonderful and amazing, she said. She is also helping the middle school boys fulfill their community service obligations required by the school. Other needs Shockley handles include recruiting and maintaining volunteers as well as bringing new community resources to the school.

After she fulfills her AmeriCorps contract, Shockley plans to continue working with nonprofits, concentrating on development and communications or volunteer management. Still, she wonít entirely leave behind the world of politics which captured her interest back in her YLSL days. I also plan to become more active in city politics, working for candidates I believe will continue to support the growth weíre experiencing in the City of St. Louis. According to Shockley, the St. Louis Public Schools can also expect to once again benefit from her penchant for volunteering in the not too distant future. She previously served the district as a volunteer reader.

Shockley has always been big on volunteering, even before entering YLSL. My mother has been a Girl Scout for the last 25 yearsóvolunteerism runs in our family! she said. However, Shockley says that it was the exposure to so many different types of people and situations during YLSL that has made her comfortable enough with her own self to be proactive about community engagement.

Doing YLSL helped give me the confidence to take risks. For two of the municipal campaigns that I worked on, I picked up the phone to get involved, and I didnít know anybody, said Shockley. I wouldnít have had the confidence to be doing things like that without my YLSL experience.

While her Youth Leadership St. Louis experience is just a piece of what made Shockley into the woman she now is, her enthusiasm for the program knows no bounds. Her long-term plans include staying in St. Louis and of course, becoming a FOCUS member.

Do you know a YLSL grad who is making the St. Louis region a better place for all of us? Let FOCUS St. Louis know. Contact the Director of Marketing and Communications at 314-622-1250 x117.