CARBONDALE, IL (WSIL) -- An SIU Law Professor is making a difference locally and around the world in this edition of Unsung Hero.
Professor Christopher Behan not only teaches Law in the United States but he's also shared his knowledge and skills in Africa. He's traveled there multiple times to conduct volunteer skills training in Botswana, Kenya, and Tanzania.
Professor Behan was recently accepted into the prestigious State Departments' Fulbright Specialist Program. The program pairs academics from the U.S. with different universities and non-governmental organizations in other countries. While there, Behan works with practicing attorneys, judges, and sometimes law students to train them on child advocacy skills.
This father of 7 is also a Bishop for the Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints.
Amy Secker met Behan at Church. She said she is inspired by how much he gives to the world and yet remains humble.
"He wants to make a difference. He wants to help other people. He wants to bring good into the world. It shows through his actions and how he treats other people. His kindness, his relatability, I think, says a lot," said Specker.
She said she's also amazed by how ambitious and open Behan is to everyone.
Behan said the secret to balancing it all is putting the most important things first.
"If you have a pile of rocks and a pile of sand and you try to put them in a jar; if you put the rock's in first, the sand will {kind of} fit around the rocks, and you can fit it all in. But if you obsess on the little things and put the sand in first, you can't stuff the rocks in," said Behan.
"I try to balance my family, my work, my church responsibility, and spiritual responsibilities, and sometimes one has to yield to another," he added.
Behan said his father was a great man and set a good example for him. He hopes to leave his children feeling the same way, knowing he was kind, good, and did and tried to do the right thing.
