The David R. Sage Award honors TCU employees who demonstrate the leadership and values of former board chairman David R. Sage, who served in TCU leadership for nearly four decades. The recipient of this year’s Leadership in Community Service Award is Carla Crittendon, director of compensation & benefits.
Crittendon offers a tremendous amount of time and talent giving back to youth in our communities, as well as to TCU and its employees. When she’s not mentoring students in South Bend schools, she’s volunteering with the YWCA, Habitat for Humanity, Alpha Kappa Alpha Incorporated, and other grassroots organizations focused on improving the quality of life in her community. Crittendon currently serves as a Board Member at the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center Foundation and is a Community Relations Ambassador for both South Bend and the University of Notre Dame.
Tell us a little bit about your TCU journey and your current role at TCU.
I started at TCU as a Co-Op student in 1988. I immediately fell in love with the credit union, and I worked here through high school and college. In 1993, I was offered a management trainee position that I took, and I grew from there. I left TCU in 1998 and moved to Houston but came back in 2012 and started in my current role as director of compensation & benefits. I’d always wanted to work in HR, people are my passion and I love helping our employees grow and develop. I’ve been back just over ten years, and I really enjoy my role in our Human Resources department.
What does effective leadership mean to you?
To me, effective leadership is when you have the ability to provide people with opportunities. You’re leading for a purpose. When I am effectively leading, I am equipping my team with tools they need to become better people themselves. Effective leadership is also when you’re able to accept and absorb feedback given to you – both good and bad. When you can give and get input, that’s an effective relationship. When you believe you’re not the only one that can be on the mountaintop and realize it takes the entire team’s ideas and effort to help. It takes a village. It’s important for your team to provide insight and ideas to help you grow as a leader.
You’re very involved in the South Bend community. What is it that drives your passion for service?
I have so much to give. I’m not serving for acknowledgement. I’m serving to help someone become a better version of themselves. Service is always giving back because it’s the right thing to do. I’m not going to be able to be everything for everybody, but I do know I can do some things to help some people. When I am told that I’ve helped someone, that’s an incredible feeling. It’s not the kudos, but when someone says thank you, I know I’ve helped.
What does service to others mean to you and how did that develop?
To me, service is giving back and it’s the right thing to do. I’ve been doing community service for most of my life, it’s something my parents instilled in me - to always give back. My family has always been engaged with giving back and helping our communities with time and talent; and it’s something I will always do. If I can touch just a few lives and make a difference, that’s a win for life.
You serve on the Board of the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center Foundation. What about their organization and mission speaks to you?
The St. Joseph Medical Center Foundation is about service because they believe in the vision of the hospital and for them, it’s about providing back to the community. We have the same values of love for people and love for community. Their mission of wanting to make a difference for their community just speaks to me.
You also do a lot of work with your sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Incorporated, tell us why that’s important to you.
We are heavily involved in our community. Part of our mission is to strive to give service to all mankind. As a woman of color, we work with a lot of young ladies in our community. I focus a lot on our childhood hunger program and it’s so important to me, because if you don’t have food you can’t function. Kids need strength to learn. Giving them food helps feed them mentally, so, in essence, feeding them gives them power. A kid without food is a kid who can’t focus and go forward. Helping kids with critical needs is very important to me because they’re our future.
This service is so important to me because it’s paramount that we empower these kids to feel confident. I do this because I want to make sure we do everything we can to make sure kids have a sense of power and food is critical to fuel that.
What inspires you?
My son inspires me. Ever since I became a mother, I think my family most inspires me. The strength and love of my family inspires me to be a servant.
What do you think is the key to professional success? What has it been for you?
The key is to understand what your passion is. You have to understand and identify your passion. You have to be vocal about your desires and how you want to grow professionally. But most importantly, you need to define that passion so you can make a difference.
My professional success has been a learning curve for me. I’ve had jobs, but now I have a career I’m passionate about. My success comes from learning. Learning from others and being vocal about what I desire. In order for me to be me, I need to find the passion that fits with my character and how I can best serve. It’s also important to be able to accept rejection – when you face rejection, it’s not saying that it’s not good enough, it’s realizing what you need to do to become a better version of you.
What effect do you want to have on the South Bend community?
I don’t need a tombstone that says I made a difference, but I want to be able to say I made a difference in people’s lives.
What are your proudest moments at TCU?
My own self-growth and journey. My proudest moments are when I can help others within TCU. It may not be exactly what they want, but when I can help alleviate an issue or make some changes that ease their lives, then I feel rewarded. When I know that I’ve helped somebody and helped them better themselves.