Welcome to Circle!

Sometimes, the lessons learned in youth keep coming around full circle.

Pat Carroll, 47, remembers when Harry Chapin taught her that win or lose, commitment to something greater than one's self is what really makes life worthwhile.

"I was in the class of '76 at Ward Melville High School (on Long Island, NY) and when I found Harry's phone number in the book, I called and asked if he would do a benefit performance so that we could raise money for a bicentennial trip," she recalled.

"Harry bluntly reminded me that it was one of the wealthiest school districts on Long Island, and that if we could think about someone else for a change, I had his number. Well, he threw down the gauntlet and I was one to take the challenge."

Carroll discovered that the local seeing eye dog foundation in Port Jefferson, NY, was going to have to close its doors if it didn't soon raise about $10,000 to cover its expenses. Armed with a good cause and a willingness to "do something," she called Harry back and got the answer she hoped for.

"He came to the school, where he worked with the music students all day — of which I was one — and listened to the songs kids were working on," she said. "Then he played us a number of songs he was working on. Two ended up on Portrait Gallery — Bummer and The Rock — pretty heady stuff for a 16 year-old!"

Despite her determination and hard work to generate enough money to save the foundation, Carroll realized the event had only raised about half of the funds needed. "The day I went to drop off our check, I was deeply apologetic about it not being enough," she said. Then Carroll learned the foundation had received another check that put them over the top — from Harry himself.

Shortly thereafter, she left high school a year early, and during her freshman year of college in 1975, got a chance to see Harry perform another concert for another good cause.

"That fall, Harry came to Syracuse to do a benefit to save an old art deco theatre from the wrecking ball," she explained. "Of course, I told people I knew Harry — as a freshman, you use any angle you have!"

Carroll had second row seats for Harry's solo performance. When Harry asked the audience for a volunteer to sing the high part in Taxi, her friends yelled to him to call on her for the role, and he obliged.

"When I got to the edge of stage, thinking he'd never remember me and that my cover was blown, he instead talked about how my high school saved the seeing eye dog foundation!!

"I nearly died," she said. "I got a bar stool, sang harmonies and had the best time ever."

Carroll said Harry's advice to "think about somebody else for a change" and his own actions — have guided her throughout her life and her work. Her accomplished and diverse career in health care as a registered nurse, a registered respiratory therapist, an award-winning medical author, writer, and columnist, has enabled her to help others in need.

Among her proudest achievements was her work as a volunteer to coordinate health care for a homeless shelter in Meriden, CT, where she lives. More recently, she's been giving back to the next generation of health care providers.

Last fall, when she was a guest speaker about health care careers at the local high school, Carroll was again reminded of Harry's spirit. "The teacher is retiring in June and laughingly asked if I was interested in a job. The more I thought about it, the more I heard Harry pushing me to do something for somebody else," she said.

She realized at this stage of her career, she could earn significantly more money doing other things. "It has been an incredibly rewarding life I've had and I don't think I would be half the person I am today if not for Harry. Now, I need to get back into a setting where I am giving back."

Inspired yet again, Carroll is currently working on getting certified in Connecticut to teach at the high school. "This program turns out 16 kids as certified nurses aides each year," she noted. "This is not a wealthy school by any means. To those 16 kids, many of whom have limited financial resources, that certificate is their ticket to a better life — and hopefully, for many, nursing school or another health profession in the future."

Carroll said she is going to apply for the teacher's position as soon as it is posted, and hopes it will give her a chance to be a positive force for life change for those students.

"I taught a week in the program to see if it would kill me," she laughed. "A couple kids asked me about how I got started in health care and I told them about Harry.

The kids were 15-, 16-years-old, into rap music, and had no idea who I was talking about. But if I get this job, they will know a lot more about him and how we can carry on his legacy."

Carroll's husband has also caught Harry's "do something" spirit. "We're both driven by Harry's story about his grandfather and being 'good tired,'" she explained.

"After 20 years getting beaten up in corporate sales, my husband is now working as a special ed instructional aide in a grammar school in East Haven, working with first-, second, and third-graders. He has found his niche, too, and he keeps talking about how, for the first time in his life, he is "good tired" and couldn't be happier. Harry lives on."

Visit Pat Carroll's website at www.whatnursesknow.com.

Watch for the Next Issue of Circle! on June 7