In Memory of Eunice Kennedy Shriver

I received word this morning that my former boss, the Honorable Eunice Kennedy Shriver, passed away. Wow. What an extraordinary woman.

I met Mrs. Shriver years ago when I was in undergrad studying public relations. A friend of a friend who knew somebody who was professionally connected to a person that worked in the HR department of the Kennedy Foundation was looking for an assistant for Mrs. Shriver. And just like God’s divine order and timing, I was asked if I’d be interested in the position. Its funny because Mrs. Shriver only needed somebody for 3 months to cover her Executive Assistant’s duties while she did some missions work in South Africa. But again, just like divine order…..God gave me favor. Cause I brought not only strong administrative skills to the table but I also knew how to handle the public. This was a plus working for Mrs. Shriver and so I started doing more than what the job called for.

When Mrs. Shriver’s assistant returned from her Africa trip she called to thank me for keeping order in the office, and then she said jokingly…… “I think you’re trying to steal my job.” That joke became a reality because a couple months after that I received a call from HR that Mrs. Shriver’s assistant had resigned and that Mrs. Shriver personally asked for me to take the position. That following Monday I reported downtown for duty.

Wow! I can’t even begin to tell all that I gained working for Mrs. Shriver. Even though I had already built a nice resume, I was young so I went in humbly. I knew that there was a lot to learn from the Kennedy matriarch, and I was so ready to receive. And receiving is what I did. Life lessons that have stuck with me to this day, I learned from working for Mrs. Shriver. Working for her is why to this day my daily prayer is that the Lord will put me at the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing, with the right people, for the right reason according to his perfect will for my life.

One of the first lessons that I learned from working at the Kennedy Foundation was the power of a name. My rolodex had people from Oprah to Dan Rather to Michael Jordan in it. It was nothing for me to call celebrities and say that I had Mrs. Shriver on the line and they’d take the call immediately. One time a friend of the Shrivers had called the office distraught because his daughter had received a rejection letter for admission to Georgetown University. Mrs. Shriver told the friend that she’d handle it. Actually, I handled it..... in her name. I called the Dean of Admissions and within hours---I said HOURS---an acceptance letter was faxed to the girl.

Another lesson that I learned from working for Mrs. Shriver was ain’t nobody trippin off of a diva attitude. I loved the fact that the Kennedy clan didn’t walk around like celebrities. Ted Kennedy would stop in during lunch to eat a half a sandwich and soup with his sister and then would go out and grab a taxi back to the hill. I loved when he stopped in cause most of the youngsters had no idea who he was. And he was so not phased by it. He’d wobble through and wave often times waiting for the receptionist to call me to come out and get him.

Maria [Shriver] the same way. She’d call and say…. “Jill I know you all are busy, but is mother available?” Sometimes as she would wait for her mom to get off of the phone we’d have a conversation. I’d never forget when Maria told me to make sure that I am absolutely ready to be married before taking the plunge. That conversation was way over my head back then, but I heard every word she said and took her advice to heart.

I always say that you can tell the difference between old money and new money cause new money feels the need to make it known. New money is very flashy and arrogant. The Kennedy’s fame and wealth is in their DNA. They don’t trip off of being well-known. In fact, Mrs. Shriver had me book all of her flights commercial in coach. And she insisted that she’d drive her own Cadillac to work, not needing a driver. She thought it a waste of money to hire one. Many times I’d have to send the mailroom guys down to the garage to help Mrs. Shriver bring up groceries for the office. Those would be the days she’d be a little late coming in.

Another lesson was the importance of family. I’m telling you……the Kennedys are the closest Caucasian family I know—lol. I thought Blacks and Latinas were co-dependent on family, but the Kennedys…..wow!! Most of the phone calls during the day would be from Mrs. Shriver’s children or nieces and nephews. They absolutely LOVED their mom and auntie. And grandmother……I thought my grandmother held the BEST GRANDMOTHER AWARD, but Mrs. Shriver gave my grarndmother some competition--lol. Mrs. Shriver took her motherly duties very serious.

My office was adjacent to Mrs. Shriver’s office and one day she buzzed my phone and told me that she had an emergency fax that needed to get out right away. I dropped everything I was doing and ran into her office. I just knew it had something to do with a project we were working on with Tom Brokaw, so I went running. But to my surprise she gave me this handwritten list that said…… “My Birthday Wish List”. She told me to fax it to all of her children immediately. Me and my crazy self looked at her and said…… “Mrs. Shriver this is your emergency!” She looked at me and said….. “Just do what I said Jill!” And I did. Cause she could be very, very feisty. I remember there were five items next to each of her five children’s names. And the first two items were……new patio furniture and a cashmere coat. I couldn’t believe it. But you’d better believe that she got everything she asked her children for on her wish list. Cause they'd die for their momma.

Another lesson is the importance of home. Ok, let me make this official. It was because of working for Mrs. Shriver that I took an interest in real estate and eventually got my license. When I came on board, the Shrivers were in transition because a couple months prior their home in the Potomac had caught fire and so they had to live temporarily at a home in Chevy Chase. A major part of my job was helping them transition back into their Potomac home. I’d coordinate and arrange with the interior decorator, the movers, the landscapers, etc. Daily we would get phone calls from realtors who were interested in selling either of the homes. And one day, I took it upon myself to inquire why there was such a big interest. I got the right realtor on the line and he broke it down to me. Unfortunately, they weren’t interested in selling but it helped me learn a few real estate techniques dealing with distinguished properties.

But Mrs. Shriver made sure that her homes were the center of life. There have been several media pieces done on the Shrivers and their Potomac home. One I remember was Mrs. Shriver, in her later years, playing soccer with her grandchildren on the front lawn. Yes, she had to be eighty years old when that article came out a couple of years ago. But she was kicking the ball in her nice manicured yard. And fresh flowers were delivered to the home on a weekly basis. And the home itself…….just impeccable. I remember having to make sure that the Safeway invoices were paid. No, no, no……the Shrivers didn’t have to go to the grocery store. Their housekeeper would call in the groceries and they’d be delivered from the Safeway up on Wisconsin Avenue. Talk about living. What I’d do to stay out that darn Giant!

Another lesson was the importance of being good to people. One day Mrs. Shriver had to catch an emergency flight out to see her sister. But it was the day that a 5th grade class had scheduled a field trip at the Kennedy Foundation as part of a history lesson. When they arrived they were so disappointed that Mrs. Shriver wasn’t there. And not so much because she was a former President’s sister, but more because she was Arnold Schwarzenegger’s mother-in-law--lol. But they were so disappointed. And other than taking them to see Sarge, Mrs. Shriver’s husband who is simply THE BEST, I needed to figure out how to make their trip worthwhile. So what I did was made each student a press kit with all kinds of pictures and stuff and told them that Mrs. Shriver was so distraught that she had to miss them that she wanted them to have something very special. A couple of weeks later, the teacher wrote me a letter thanking me for the kind gesture and said that it was the highlight of the trip. The funny thing is that I had to arrange for more press kits to be made since it wasn’t in the plan to give out 25 to children, but I felt I had to do what I had to do. Who knows….one of those children could be inspired enough to be our next president.

About a year or so into working for Mrs. Shriver I had to make a tough decision. I was in my senior year in undergrad and had to do a 30-hour a week internship. I had applied to several public relations firms, media outlets, and so forth. And with the help of Mrs. Shriver I could have interned just about anywhere in the is country that I wanted to. But there was an opportunity that came through that I just could not pass up. It was working in the PR department of the Recording Industry Association of America. On my last day working for Mrs. Shriver, she gave me her daughter’s, Maria Shriver, book and wrote something in there that would change my perspective about myself. She simply told me that I will succeed in anything that I choose to do in life because I have tenacity. To be honest, I didn’t know what tenacity meant until I asked around. Once I learned what it meant, I have held on to those words ever since.

There was one last thing, and probably the most important, that Mrs. Shriver taught me that has literally been the blueprint of my life is the power of one. The power of one making a difference in the life of another. The Shrivers have done a superb job of giving back to the community. What they’ve done with the Special Olympics and the Kennedy Foundation is remarkable. And it is because of seeing their efforts first hand that shifted my interest from public relations to public service. When I went back to school to get my Master’s I knew that I wanted to learn how to serve professionally. And so I called Mrs. Shriver to ask her advice. By this time she was frailing and had already suffered from a few ailments. But she told me to consider a Master’s in Public Administration. And so that’s what I did. In 2004, I earned my MPA with a concentration in Nonprofit Management.

I’m telling you having the right people in your life can make a major difference. If you ask the Lord to order your steps then you have to be confident enough to know that even the most seemingly difficult people will play a major part in your purpose on this earth. Every opportunity the Lord allows should be cherished and entered knowing that God orchestrated it. Working at the Kennedy Foundation played a major part in the woman I am today. And I thank Eunice Kennedy Shriver for believing in me and giving me a chance. She has definitely lived a full life and I believe that she has fulfilled her life’s purpose. Eunice Kennedy Shriver will always be remembered.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times; having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. --2 Corinthians 9:8