Former Alabama 4-H’er Teaching Others Interfaith Diplomacy and Peacemaking

In 1995, when Darrell Ezell joined 4-H in Madison County as a 15-year-old, he wasn’t thinking that it would prepare him for a career in international diplomacy and public service. But it did!

“4-H gave me a chance. It started me off in the right direction toward public service. I was involved in many projects in 4-H but my favorite was public speaking. “

He began competing in informative public speaking and later moved into oratorical public speaking, now called persuasive public speaking.

“Strangely enough, I never won awards in 4-H but I learned valuable lessons from my 4-H experiences and the people I met, including my agent Walter Harris, other 4-H’ers from around the state, from the various competitions and from judges comments.”

After graduating from Lee High School in Huntsville, Ezell completed a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Alabama A&M University and a Master of Arts degree in systematic theology and ethics from Union Theological Seminary-Columbia University.

Today, at age 28, he is a third-year doctoral student in Inter-Religious Relations and Diplomacy at the Graduate Institute for Theology and Religion at University of Birmingham in England. He is currently researching interreligious relations and diplomacy and alternative techniques to traditional peacemaking. His doctoral dissertation is entitled: “The Role of Interfaith Dialogue in 21st Century Diplomacy.”

A native of Huntsville, Ezell recently completed an internship as a foreign affairs researcher with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs, where he worked with U.S. ambassadors, senior level diplomats and others to promote international security and peacekeeping initiatives. He got the opportunity to experience first hand efforts in peacekeeping, diplomacy, policy making and the workings of the United Nations. Ezell says the highlight of the internship was working with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

After his internship, he began a research practicum in conjunction with the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service and the William J. Clinton Foundation. One of the objectives of the practicum was to develop a master-level course drawn from his doctoral dissertation outline entitled, “Interfaith Diplomacy as a Form of Public Service.” Another objective involved pursuing a scholarly work plan on fostering international religious reconciliation.

This fall he will return to the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service as a distinguished guest lecturer on Interfaith Diplomacy and Communications, which deals primarily with the role of public servants in international religious peacemaking and nation-state security. Upon completion of his doctoral studies in England in 2008, he will return to the school as an assistant professor.

Ezell encourages all 4-H’ers to consider two important factors while participating in 4-H – sacrifice and choices. “Sacrifice includes being dedicated to spend whatever time and effort is needed to make your projects and yourselves the best they can be, not to win awards but to learn all you can from the 4-H experience.”

Choice goes along with sacrifice. Life is filled with choices - both good and bad.

“Make the good choice to let your experiences in 4-H teach you how to turn ‘I can’ts’ into other great possibilities. Remember, as a 4-H’er, you are an ambassador for your family, club, community, county, state, nation and world. The choices you make today may not only affect your life and future but also the life and future of others.”

Posted by dreynold at August 20, 2007 10:42 AM | TrackBack