WHAT I LEARNED FROM MY DAD
Lessons Learned From my Father “The Colonel”
I
learned from my father, Colonel Russell S. Hahn, a highly decorated Army officer that “service” can be joy. As a youth, I witnessed my dad’s dedication to his country. At times, he was away from home engaged in the latest international conflict or military operation. Being young, an only child and not growing up with an extended family, I thought then that his long absences were that he didn’t want to spend time with us. The “bottom line” was that my father’s calling was to serve his country. “The Colonel” was raised by his grandmother until he entered the U.S Army. My Parisian mother left France at a young age after WW II to start a new life with my father.
I was fortunate to call
“The Colonel” my dad.An inspiring male figure
Turning 19, I was one month shy of completing my sophomore year at the University of San Francisco. I needed a summer job before transferring in the Fall to UC Berkeley. I needed a “real” job, different from the previous summer selling magazines door-to-door. The Jesuits at USF introduced me to the mystical wisdom of Ignatian spirituality and my soul was ripe for a summer experience filled with meaning and purpose. In the words of St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order, I was eager to “go forth and set the world on fire.”