Photography: Reuben Njaa

Altruism is the opposite of selfishness. It’s the personification of a sincere concern for the welfare of others. It’s a traditional virtue in many cultures, and a core aspect of various traditions, sometimes religious, that play a significant role in our society and its behavior.

It may be distinguished from inherent feelings of loyalty and duty. Altruism is a motivation or inspiration to provide something of merit to others, while duty focuses on a moral obligation toward a specific individual. Some individuals may feel both altruism and duty.

Pure altruism consists of giving something of value with no expectation of any reciprocal compensation. It is selfless and, regrettably, far too often thankless. But those who are naturally attracted to the principle probably prefer to have it simply accomplished rather than recognized.

Those who feel they have that sense of personal duty or obligation can find themselves in any variety of positions or seats professionally. Legal counsel, physician, elected official or educator – these are all opportunities for individuals who feel called to make that difference. Or it could even be a leadership position within local city government.

Some take the opportunity to make an impact on people in a varied and multifaceted way. By playing a profound role in a great many aspects and functioning components within a community, one can take tremendous satisfaction in that many others have benefitted from the ways in which their lives were influenced. City leaders represent those critical and pivotal overseers of our cities who carry the senses of duty and obligation, often thanklessly.

San Antonio Deputy City Manager Erik Walsh is one who passionately admits to making the decision to follow that inkling of wanting to make a difference and “having a sense of responsibility to others.”

Born and raised in San Antonio, Walsh is a product of Central Catholic High School. And according to him, Central Catholic was also where he originally discovered that he was called to serve the city of San Antonio in a leadership position.

Vividly, Walsh remembers his freshman English class with instructor, Father Shaunghnessy. With its school campus located in the heart of downtown San Antonio, Central Catholic was within walking, or in this case jogging, distance of City Hall. During that class, Walsh remembers routine jogging pass-bys from then city manager, Lou Fox.

“Father Shaunghnessy wouldn’t let any of the city manager’s jogging trips go unnoticed,” Walsh recalls. “Each and every time the city manager would jog by, Father Shaunghnessy would not only point him out, but also go on about what a city manager does and talk about city government. I learned a lot about city management during that class and after class reading on my own.”

It was also at Central Catholic where Walsh gleaned much spiritually that would later factor in professionally. “Being part of that brotherhood community made an impact on me,” he says. “We do have an obligation to others. I believe we have a responsibility to our community.”

Certain and passionate about the direction he would take, Walsh went on to Trinity University after graduating high school. Inasmuch as his wish was to go into city management, Walsh focused on getting his political science undergraduate degree. And he also found time to play football for the university during that period.

Upon completing his undergraduate degree, he spent the next few years working toward his master’s in urban administration. And as good fortune would have it, that university department was chaired by the jogger who was consistently the topic of his high school English class: Fox.

During the spring of ’94, when Walsh received his master’s, he learned of a few openings with the city for which he academically qualified. The city’s budget office, Walsh was advised, would be the ideal area to begin professionally since it provided a well-rounded breadth of experience, represented a central role interdepartmentally and would offer the chance to learn how the city makes its money, spends its money and moves its money.

And that was the position he got.

Since his hiring 15 years ago, Walsh has been put in charge by former city manager, Alex Briseño, of a small city department reporting directly to the city manager, and also has been promoted two times over by current city manager, Sheryl Sculley.

Today, Walsh is one of only two deputy city managers in San Antonio. He oversees bedrock and everyday city departments like the police, emergency, fire and animal care departments, and he has governed the city’s governmental relations and solid waste departments.

This theoretically translates into a $2-billion-a-year entity. San Antonio is, after all, the seventh largest city in the United States.

And Walsh thanks and has great praise for Sculley, his current boss. He has been working for the city manager for six years now and believes he’s benefited from her leadership and encouragement every day during that period.

“She’s continuously pushing us to do more,” he says. “She’s hard charging and decisive, which are great things to have in a boss. She expects a lot out of us, and rightfully so.”

But Walsh also admits that it would be difficult to not be thankful for that first episode, and subsequent episodes, occurring in Shaunghnessy’s class decades ago. It was in that class and during those discussions where that original thought turned into an interest, and where that interest became a professional destination.

And it was outside that class, within the walls of the high school, where they all melded into a vocation. Central Catholic students, faculty and alumni have long learned that (fraternal) community spirit goes hand-in-hand with the school – unavoidably in one fashion or another. The two are essential and integral pieces of each other.

For some, I believe, there’s a deep-seated desire to transplant that community spirit from the school to the outside – to take it off campus and into the real world. And as a result, quite possibly, there would be the feeling that they are fulfilling that sensed obligation to others and actually demonstrating that responsibility to others by practicing altruism.