Kristyan Rose Gilmore
North Penn Legal Services
Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania

IT’S NOT ABOUT ME

I sat down to prepare the “Drum Major essay” and produced pages of interesting narration about my colleagues, our clients, and myself. I prefaced by discussing all of the things that I had to overcome in order to be in the position that I’m in now. I went on to express the joy I find in helping those who are still going through. Next, there was an extensive discussion of the joy experienced in seeing peace come over a hopeless client. Here I gave honor to my creator God for giving me the ability to speak to lay persons about complex legal issues in a way that they can understand. By then, I had two pages with little or no point…I was rambling…as I am now.

As I read over my essay, the faces of our many clients flashed before me. The theme song seemed to be “it’s not about you…anything worth doing is worth fighting for!” Can you here the melody?

Then I realized that I needed guidance in assessing the focus of my writing. So, I went to the definition of “drum major” as “the leader of a marching band…” (thank you Dictionary.com).

After working with the members of the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network (specifically North Penn Legal Services) for the past month, I know that these advocates and teachers put serious thought into everything they do. I made it my goal to assess the reasoning behind their naming this essay the “Drum Major” I wasn’t able to get it until I shifted my thinking to focus on the glass as half full.

Recalling the day that I interviewed with Ms. Cynthia Newcomer (Chief Administrative Officer for Pennsylvania Legal Services), I distinctly remember that she was not alone. Karen Detamore (Executive Director of Friends of Farmworkers) was there with her. As I sat in the Harrisburg training room with ten of my fellow MLK interns, it was the same. I was not alone. As the presenters came in one by one, each feeding off the energy of the one before was not alone. They were preparing us for something.

This internship is like a rigorous band camp where you were expected to increase with each passing session. Once at my placement in Stroudsburg, the band played on. The supervising attorney in my office plays tuba in a marching band (really). The secretaries and paralegals all play an important role in the ensemble. We march-2-3-4…pressing toward the mark of a higher calling.

This is what we give our clients everyday. Music speaks peace…it says all is well. Music brings with it a spirit of triumph…it says FIGHT! The clients come to us wounded, we access their need, and we empower them, speaking peace to their trials and igniting the FIRE in their bellies. While we are all “drum majors” in training, not everyone can be the “leader of the marching band.” Success comes in aspiring to get there, reflecting on all the lives we touch with our zeal for the law.