It is with great sadness that we share that Sam Murray, LearnServe Paraguay ’09, passed away last week in Massachusetts. We celebrate Sam as a passionate, vivacious, hard-working student — ready to dive head-first into new experiences, poised to reflect deeply on what he had learned, and eager to make a difference in the lives of others. Sam graduated from Bell Multicultural High School (DCPS), and continued on to Tufts to pursue his passion in international affairs. Over the years he remained a dedicated friend and champion of LearnServe.
In his honor and memory, we are reprinting excerpts from his 2009 LearnServe Paraguay blog, and the college essay he wrote based on these experiences (which he proudly shared with LearnServe):
“Poverty, in Paraguay at least, is a mindset, a mental barrier – which has affected none of the people I have met. Those who have lacked material possessions are persons of character, strength, determination and people who have experienced pure joy, though their needs surely surpass anything I have seen in the States. In numerous ways I envy their happiness and collectiveness. The children with whom I have been partnered work in cold, wet, seemingly unlivable conditions, right alongside Americans, without complaints or whines. Some of their feet hang outside of their shoes and get dirtied by the mud. As I observe their work I want to swallow my desire to quit and follow in their footsteps. I have come to lead and teach, yet I gain many lessons in humanity.”
“During my two and a half week community service endeavor there were many instances in which I learned more about myself, my country, and life. Perhaps the biggest breakthrough came about while I was wrestling with a friend and ripped my pants. Naturally I was quite ashamed and made my best attempts to hide my obviously ripped pants. They were torn on the seam at the crotch all the way down to the kneecaps. My response to my concerned companions who offered to mend my pants was simple, “It’s ok, I have plenty more pants and I’ll just throw these away, it’s no big deal!” After continuous conversation and harassment I allowed one of the adults in the community to fix my torn pants. As I sat in his house and ate the lunch his family prepared he went straight to work at sewing what I thought were unfixable pants. After twenty minutes or so he came to the table presented me with my clothing and to my surprise it looked as if it were brand new. If I had money I would have offered it to him as compensation. When I offered to pay him the next day he denied it for several reasons which I attributed to pride. Typically, an American social normality for an act of generosity is a monetary award. It was not until a later conversation that I realized that this man’s intentions for helping me were not based on money; his act of kindness was of friendship and compassion.”
“My experiences have helped me to come to the realization that life should be shared and adored and that one must make the day his own. Paraguay has exceeded my greatest expectations and has helped to change my mindset to one of continuous generosity, not out of a feeling of superiority but one of unity.”
Sam, you will be missed. May your lessons in humility, humor and gratitude be an inspiration to all of us — and may we all find our own ways to share and adore life, to make each day our own.