Dana Wilson: BRIDGES
River City Rising
There were stories that made me laugh, none that made me cry- until Dana Wilson began telling her story. I was sitting three rows back from the microphone placed center stage at Spillit’s Grand Slam: an event featuring Memphis residents who shared true life stories and were vying for the crown of Grand Master Storyteller 2014.
Almost immediately Dana’s emotions permeated the space in which we all sat. Her voice trembled slightly as she began sharing the details of her summer just passed and how they encompassed the night’s theme of Silver Linings. She lost her father to cancer shortly after taking his advice to purchase her first home here in Memphis. While she sat at her father’s side in Arizona during his last hours, here in Memphis family and friends packed up her old house and moved everything into the new. Pain and joy dwelt in the same space together: she felt tremendous loss with the death of her father yet recognized how very much she still had in the mother and friends who put everything in its proper place and awaited her return home.
Dana stood in front of us sharing pieces of herself, showing her vulnerability. She used nuggets of her life, arguably the most painful ones, to teach us lessons in love, friendship and letting go. That night she won Grand Master Storyteller of 2014. Soon thereafter, I learned that the leadership qualities she so openly displayed are being used to mint the next generation of leaders here in Memphis.
Almost immediately Dana’s emotions permeated the space in which we all sat. Her voice trembled slightly as she began sharing the details of her summer just passed and how they encompassed the night’s theme of Silver Linings. She lost her father to cancer shortly after taking his advice to purchase her first home here in Memphis. While she sat at her father’s side in Arizona during his last hours, here in Memphis family and friends packed up her old house and moved everything into the new. Pain and joy dwelt in the same space together: she felt tremendous loss with the death of her father yet recognized how very much she still had in the mother and friends who put everything in its proper place and awaited her return home.
Dana stood in front of us sharing pieces of herself, showing her vulnerability. She used nuggets of her life, arguably the most painful ones, to teach us lessons in love, friendship and letting go. That night she won Grand Master Storyteller of 2014. Soon thereafter, I learned that the leadership qualities she so openly displayed are being used to mint the next generation of leaders here in Memphis.
Dana is the Vice President of Youth Programs at BRIDGES, an organization that “unites and inspires diverse young people to become confident and courageous leaders committed to community transformation.” She has been with them for the past 6 ½ years and shared with me that she watched their website relentlessly until a position opened up. When one did, she brought her experiences from teaching in Guatemala and Mexico City to work for an organization at which she believes “the people are passionate about their mission.”
“I wanted to be in a place where I could have a positive influence. I like hearing people’s stories; truth is more engaging than fiction.” She explains that through these stories she has learned people are people and we all share a common thread in our lives. That common thread has helped her connect with the students who come through her program and often have struggles at both school and home.
Before we end our conversation she tells me that when she returned to BRIDGES after her father’s passing, for the first time in her life she thought, “I really can’t do it (be present at work). The ground shifts when you lose a parent. I’m not done processing.” But her co-workers were incredible, so gracious, she says, and by being on the receiving end of that she was full of gratitude for the people in her life. “I learned to trust people even more. There is a blessing in that.”
The Grand Master Storyteller crowned that night at Spillit took everything that changed and redefined her life as she knew it and allowed the lessons in that shift to spill over into the relationships she continues to build at BRIDGES. For the future leaders of Memphis whose lives are being so greatly shaped and impacted by those guiding them, I believe Dana’s position of leadership in their lives is only fitting.
Spillit is true, unscripted stories told in front of a live audience. To learn more about Spillit, please visit www.spillitmemphis.com
To learn more about BRIDGES, please visit www.bridgesusa.org
“I wanted to be in a place where I could have a positive influence. I like hearing people’s stories; truth is more engaging than fiction.” She explains that through these stories she has learned people are people and we all share a common thread in our lives. That common thread has helped her connect with the students who come through her program and often have struggles at both school and home.
Before we end our conversation she tells me that when she returned to BRIDGES after her father’s passing, for the first time in her life she thought, “I really can’t do it (be present at work). The ground shifts when you lose a parent. I’m not done processing.” But her co-workers were incredible, so gracious, she says, and by being on the receiving end of that she was full of gratitude for the people in her life. “I learned to trust people even more. There is a blessing in that.”
The Grand Master Storyteller crowned that night at Spillit took everything that changed and redefined her life as she knew it and allowed the lessons in that shift to spill over into the relationships she continues to build at BRIDGES. For the future leaders of Memphis whose lives are being so greatly shaped and impacted by those guiding them, I believe Dana’s position of leadership in their lives is only fitting.
Spillit is true, unscripted stories told in front of a live audience. To learn more about Spillit, please visit www.spillitmemphis.com
To learn more about BRIDGES, please visit www.bridgesusa.org