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Note: Sheri Krotzer is Students for Life of America’s South Mid-West Regional Coordinator

I must admit that when I first began working for Students for Life of America, I didn’t like saying my job title. It had nothing to do with what I do for a living – it had everthing to do with the fact that I could never just say “I start pro-life groups on college campuses and travel all over helping and training the next pro-life leaders”….. because of course, a simple answer would turn into, at the very least, a 10-15 minute conversation. I was tired of meeting new people because that was part of every conversation…. the dreaded “so, what do you do?”

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For a while, I felt guilty about this feeling I had. I was never ashamed of the work I partake in, but I wished I could just hand people a paragraph of my job description and answers to every possible FAQ I could imagine. It was the same conversation over and over. The reactions were often priceless – I mean, who would think that asking a simple question like “what do you do for a living?” would lead in to a political discussion? People get way more than they bargain for when they meet me.

I’m a living, breathing, walking, talking pro-life advertisement.

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I have come to accept this… and completely embrace it. I now OWN my job title and proudly go into great detail about what I do. I have made more genuine friends than I could have ever imagined. I get volunteers without even trying. Who knew that being open, honest and matter-of-fact about my job would have such an incredibly positive effect?

This past weekend I flew home to see my family. It had been a long time, so I was very excited to take this trip. After an enjoyable weekend (and some not-so-enjoyable sickness), I was headed back to St. Louis. Once I got to my gate, I was drowsy (I had just taken Dramamine), feeling quite sick and ready to go home and sleep. What I didn’t know is that I would not be going to St. Louis as soon as I thought. My flight had been overbooked by at least 10 people. Nobody was volunteering to take the next flight and despite my internal opposition, I sucked it up and volunteered.

By making this decision – I was able to meet this wonderful young woman who also offered to volunteer. Maxine and I started talking and the “dreaded question” came up. I gave her a brief summary of what I do and she gave me a look of surprise. I couldn’t tell if she agreed or disagreed, so I continued explaining and tried to read her. Eventually, I figured out that she was somewhat on the edge of the issue. We ended up having dinner together and talked for a good hour. Come to find out – she would be moving from St. Louis to Washington DC this week. This excited me (because she told me she had just graduated law school and was hoping to find a job where she could help people), and so I gave her my card and we now plan to discuss this more. She was so open to everything I had to share with her; I noticed true compassion in her eyes for those affected by abortion.

I’m not sure what will come of this meeting, but I can only hope that this conversation has given her something to share if she comes across someone considering abortion. You never know where the next domino will fall. Never hold back on any opportunity to share your pro-life views. I have an easy step-in since it’s in my job description, so I now take every chance I get to share with a listening ear.