I love public service and public servants, those civic-minded people who dedicate themselves to making life better for others through acts of service and expressions of kindness while pursuing challenging missions of national and international importance. It was my distinct honor and privilege to serve in government for the better part of four decades, most of it at the federal level. As I reflect on my experience during Public Service Recognition Week, I could not envision a more purposeful, meaningful, and rewarding career. I was blessed to find my calling in public service at such an early stage of my professional life. While I was fortunate to have had many outstanding mentors and role-models during my time in government, the most impactful influencers came from my family—my mother Lorraine Wells who served for forty-five years in Taxpayer Service at the Internal Revenue Service in Philadelphia and my brother Dr. Harold Wells who served as a Pulmonary Specialist at the Coatesville VA Medical Center for several decades as a karmic counterbalance to his combat service as a Marine in the jungles of Vietnam. Regrettably, I can no longer draw on their example, but their tutelage and standards of excellence and ethical service remain with me as I continue to serve as a pracademic at American University.
