Millennial Erik Servellon, 32, is driven by a passion for community
service and public education. After a failed bid to win a Learning
Community board seat in 2018, this son of El Salvadoran immigrant
parents is now running for the Omaha Schools Board District 9 post in
South Omaha.
“I am 100 percent pro-public education. I want to do everything we can
to invest in public education,” said Servellon, Business Outreach
Coordinator with Avenue Scholars Foundation. “I want to focus heavily
on career readiness. OPS has a career center doing some great work. I
want to expand it, not just for the legacy trades like welding and
construction, but for IT.
“For a district with a student population of 54,000, we currently have
one person in the Diversity and Inclusion Office. I want to build that
office and have a strong diversity and inclusion policy to make sure
black, brown, Asian-Pacific Islander students don’t get missed. I
think Superintendent Cheryl Logan is doing a great job, but I want to
challenge her to never forget those underrepresented communities.”
His pursuit of elected office is informed by past stints assisting
Nebraska State Sen. Tony Vargas in Lincoln and working as Election
Board Coordinator in the Douglas County Election Commission. But his
purpose only came into focus once deployed to Afghanistan with the
Nebraska Army National Guard as a flight medic in 2017. He followed
his two older brothers in military service. His younger brother also
served.
“I did not find my true why until my deployment. I got a taste of war
and realized i want to serve my community. I realized we need to grow
our Latino leadership pool – and I want to do my part. I want to see
the Latino community elevated and South Omaha have a great corps of
champions and leaders.”
One way he elevates peers is as president of the Metro Young Latino
Professionals Association (MYLPA).
“The mission of MYLPA is to amplify the power of Latinos through civic
and professional engagement,” he said. “This year we’re awarding
$25,000 in college scholarships for Dreamer and DACA youth. We’ve got
great applicants. They have stories so similar to mine.
Their parents wanted a better life and now these youth get a chance to
live the American Dream.”
Starting this year, scholarship recipients are matched with a mentor.
MYLPA, he said, helps prepare a new generation of representative leaders.
“We use our board as a training ground for young Latino professionals
to go serve on other boards. This fall we’re launching a board
mentoring training in partnership with Nonprofit Association of the
Midlands.”
He honed his own skill set as an Omaha New Leaders Council fellow and
University of Nebraska at Omaha master’s in Public Administration
graduate student.
His young professional profile got him invited to the Mayor’s
Millennial Advisory Committee. His community work led to him being
named one of 2018’s Ten Outstanding Young Omahans and receiving the
Distinguished Service Award. He’s recognized as one of 2019’s Ten
Outstanding Young Americans by JCI USA and as a 2019 Community Builder
by Civic Nebraska.
Servellon’s social capital is inspired by his own school experience.
Until age 11 he lived in gang-ridden East Los Angeles. Better work
opportunities and living conditions drew the family to Nebraska in
- He struggled until a teacher recognized a vision problem.
Outfitted with eyeglasses, Servellon blossomed as a student. Then his
father died from chronic alcoholism.
“He was a great dad,” Servellon said. “He was very caring, very
generous, very kind. But the disease took him in 2000 (at age 49).”
Servellon’s older brothers were already on their own, but his mother
was left to raise him and his younger brother.
“She had to do the whole single-parent thing, which was difficult, but
bless her heart for doing it. Without a father, I knew I needed male
role models – I yearned for it – and I got them at Omaha Central High
School.”
Instructors Dwaine Sutter, Drew Thyden and Harry Gaylor, he said,”were
models for me.”
“They helped me get my first job. They taught me how to compete and
how to be a leader. They did all these things for me. I made a promise
that after I graduated I would be there whenever they needed help, and
I have been. They invested in me and I invest back in them.”
He continues his missionary work at Avenue Scholars Foundation, where
he builds relationships with businesses to provide internships.
“We believe internships are the way to help students get that first
career experience. It comes full circle from those educators at
Central using their network to get me that first job. I’m doing that
now for students. It’s a great feeling seeing these young scholars
succeed.”
Another reason he’s vying for the OPS board is do right by those
educators who impacted him and others.
“The district’s pension fund is $773 million underfunded and without
some game-plan or stewardship it has a very real chance of not paying
out promised pensions. That does not sit well with me. I will be a
loud voice for teachers to make sure they get their due.”
He’s a wiser candidate than in 2018.
“That was our very first campaign and we learned lessons we’re ready
to put to work. “
He feels in good hands with campaign manager Krystal Fox, who was a
field team worker on Barack Obama’s presidential runs.
Win or lose, Servellon will continue giving back. He encourages others
to serve their community.
“All it takes is to get up, talk to your neighbors, get active in your
neighborhood association. Everybody is very capable of serving. The
key is to continue to serve.
I live by it every day.”
Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga.com.