20 Years, 20 Stories – Ken Jamilosa: Volunteering Guided Life Choices

“Volunteering with TEXSAR illuminated my feelings about wanting to help others, to do as much as I can for as many as I can,” said long-time volunteer Ken Jamilosa, “and that has affected my career choices and involvement as a volunteer for various organizations.”

Ken joined TEXSAR as a member of Central Division about three weeks before the disastrous Memorial Day Wimberley Floods of 2015. “I went on one missing persons mission and shortly after the first round of floods came. I deployed for that, and the second round, too. I’ll never forget the feeling when interacting with people who so appreciated that strangers would give up their own time to help others they didn’t even know. Helping others as part of life made all the sense in the world at that time.”

Ken originally was a software consultant. His early missions and involvement changed all that. “I joined TEXSAR with a friend. I did it on a whim. I didn’t realize that my career was at a crossroads, but the more I got involved with TEXSAR, the more profound the effect. When I first joined I did not think of the deeper aspects of this sort of service.” The more he deployed, the more he felt the urge to help others, and the more prepared he wanted to be when called upon to serve.

He wanted to “be more useful to the team,” so he achieved his certification as an Emergency Medical Technician. The more involved he became, the deeper his desire to help others became. He recalls a TEXSAR volunteer who was part of TEXSAR’s Gulf Coast Division who encouraged him to apply for a job in Emergency Management in Galveston County in the office she managed. Volunteering for missions over the years was forging a life mission for Ken. He received the job and moved from Austin to the Houston area. “I think they knew they could teach me more about the field, but my personal values to want to serve are what caught their attention.”

Ken’s career has progressed nicely. He now serves as a Regional Evacuation Planner for Houston. He continues to volunteer for TEXSAR, where he is the Assistant Division Lead for Gulf Coast Division, and he serves in several other volunteer roles around the Galveston area. Volunteering became a transformative force for Ken and he encourages others to volunteer, too. “Volunteering is rewarding, enables you to develop skills and provides great interpersonal time with others who have a similar call to help people. It also will open your eyes and provide a different view of those who need the services you are able to provide as a volunteer.”

“TEXSAR provides the chance to serve in ways that help you understand why you do it. At first, it just feels like a cool thing to do. Then, you realize it is the right thing to do. Before long, you realize it is a purpose, not just a free time activity. One of the great things about TEXSAR is being able to hang out with kindred spirits who are going through, or have gone through, that clarification process by serving. Wherever my life and career go, I know it will include service. TEXSAR played a huge role in that understanding.”