What does it mean to be truly free? St. Josemaría writes: “I opt for God because I want to, freely, without compulsion of any kind. And I undertake to serve, to convert my whole life into a means of serving others, out of love for my Lord Jesus” (Friends of God, no. 35). Choosing to serve is the natural overflow of love freely given, freedom at its fullest.

Tony recruits teachers for charter schools. He doesn’t always see the students his work eventually reaches, but he knows they’re there, and he tries to remember that they’re the ones he’s working for. In this video, he talks about what it means to find your place in a bigger story, and how learning to see your work as service gives you something that job satisfaction alone never could: the calm, deep assurance that wherever you are on the path, you’re moving in the right direction.

Tony: Right now, I work as a recruitment associate for Seaton Education Partners. I help them recruit teachers for a network of charter schools, free public charter schools.

Where do you find beauty in your work?

Tony: I think there are many different places that I find beauty in work, whether it’s visiting schools where my teachers teach, and I help hire teachers, so I get to see them in action. It’s cool. 

But also, we ask a question in all of our interviews. And the question is, what is truth? And hearing people’s responses to that is often very beautiful, to hear the answers that the people give. There have been some very profound ones coming from people from all different ways of living and lived experiences. Hearing those answers is definitely one of the more beautiful aspects of my work.

Who do you do this for?

Tony: In my line of work, I sit in the office. I work for a school, but I’m not in the school, so I think part of the challenge there is realizing I’m still doing it for the kids in the school, although I don't see them on a regular basis. So when I do go into the schools and see the students, see the teachers in action, that is definitely one of the great parts of the day, because there I see why I do the work.

Saint Josemaría said that one’s professional vocation is part of their divine vocation. What does that mean to you?

Tony: I really like this idea because in this world, there are so many things to do that we enjoy that are good, that aren’t wrong, and they’re worth doing. I have some friends who are at various military academies. And these guys, they love flying planes or jumping out of planes, because they’re on the jump team, and they love parachuting. And for them, when they talk about how this is a way for them to live out my Christian vocation in the middle of the world. I think that’s so cool. You get to fly planes. You get to jump out of planes. You’re at the military academies. It’s free tuition. You know, it's a win-win-win. And on top of that, that’s your path to sanctity, and that's your Christian vocation being lived out. I think that’s really, really cool.

What advice would you give to someone who is entering the workforce?

Tony: I got this from a friend and mentor, the father of a good friend of mine. He suggested that I think about work and career as moving towards the destination. You don’t know where that destination is going to be right now. It could be, in 25 years, somewhere where you would never have thought, but he always helped me see that it’s a matter of viewing your current position as a way to grow and to serve the society you’re in, in that particular aspect. And maybe you need to go over here, but right now you're over here, but you’re always kind of going up. Not like you’re climbing a ladder in the corporate world, but you’re finding the path, and that path might go left, right, but it’s always going up. And as long as you’re always moving in that right direction, I think you’re on a good path. 

So if you’re ever wondering, man, is this the right job? Because I think especially us in this generation, we really want to find meaning and purpose in our work, and that’s a good thing societally. But as recruiter, I see the heavy turnover when people are dissatisfied at their current job. But helping people see: okay, great, this is awesome. You want to be at a job you like. We’ll have patience and also realize that this job isn't forever and that you can do something else and see where you’re at right now as an opportunity to grow, as an opportunity to give to the company you’re at, the community you’re involved in. And from there, you'll move and you'll find your path. So a lot of peace and calm knowing that things do work out professionally as well.