RAMONA J. SCHUENEMEYER
Posted by Mariah Walters
On my best day as a federal employee, I came to fully understand the power and impact we in the Social Security Administration have on those we serve.
It was also one of my worst days: I was on the other side of the desk when my own father was the one with a terminal illness.
I sat there again with my mother a few short months later to file for survivor benefits.
Like never before, I realized how vital SSA programs are to the American public — and how much it has meant to my family and me over the years.
Not until you have walked in the footsteps of those in need can you really have empathy for the people and the stories our front-line employees deal with each day.
Almost immediately after reporting to Dallas as regional commissioner in 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall.
I saw SSA join alongside other agencies and community groups — the world, really — surrounding those men, women and families who lost everything.
I saw the absolute dedication of employees who pulled together, even when they themselves had lost loved ones, lost homes, lost schools for their children.
Regardless of my official title or role, I take pride and honor in the title of “public servant†and in serving an agency that appreciates how critically important are the programs we administer to the majority of Americans.
Schuenemeyer is Social Security Administration regional commissioner in Dallas.