I’ve always liked CNN anchor Soledad O’Brien.

And this piece from a paper in Sioux City reminds me why:

A CNN anchor spoke of the role of service in the field of journalism and faith that surfaced repeatedly in stories to a crowd of supporters of Catholic schools.

Soledad O’Brien, who also is a special correspondent for CNN: Special Investigations Unit, was the featured speaker at the 11th annual Bishop’s Dinner for Catholic education Sunday evening.

O’Brien shared with the crowd of about 770 at the Sioux City Convention Center stories of her parents, her young family and her vocation as a journalist.

The daughter of a biracial couple — her mother is black and from Cuba and her father is white and from Australia — O’Brien delighted the crowd with stories of her mother in particular.

“My mother is not a warm, fuzzy,” she confessed. “She’s more of a tough-nut immigrant, whose best advice to me was: ‘Most people are idiots.'”

Since interracial marriage was illegal in Baltimore, Md., O’Brien’s parents married in 1958 in Washington, D.C. The fifth of six children, O’Brien admitted she too has experienced discrimination in job hunting.

“My first job interview was in Massachusetts and the manager told me I didn’t look ‘black’ enough,” she said. “I called my mother and cried and she told me, ‘Lovey, get over it.’

“At another job interview they felt ‘Soledad’ was too difficult a name and would I consider changing it,” O’Brien continued. “I told them my full name was Maria de la Soledad Teresa O’Brien, which means The Blessed Virgin Mary of Solitude, and I wasn’t changing it. I called my mother crying again, and she again told me to get over it.”

O’Brien began her reporting career in Boston, joining NBC News in 1991. She then worked for three years as a local reporter for the San Francisco NBC affiliate. O’Brien anchored MSNBC’s weekend morning show and the cable network’s award-winning technology program The Site.

O’Brien came to CNN from NBC News, where she had anchored Weekend Today since July 1999. During that time, she contributed reports for the weekday Today Show and for weekend editions of NBC Nightly News.

O’Brien began anchoring CNN’s flagship morning program American Morning from New York City in July 2003 when she joined the network. She referred to her job in the field of journalism as one of “service” and “inspiration.”

“I’m inspired everyday by people and I let my daughters know that,” she said. “No matter how tired I am, an interview will put into perspective” how important the job can be.

In addition to two daughters, ages 5 and 6, O’Brien and her husband investment banker Bradley Raymond have 3-year-old twin boys.

The faith of individuals provided another source of awe for the 41-year-old Harvard graduate.

“It’s easy to be awed by the big stories like the war in Iraq or Hurricane Katrina or the tsunami,” she stressed. “It’s the stories of people in difficulty that move me.”

O’Brien has reported hour-long documentaries and in-depth reports of on-going and breaking news stories. In 1998, she traveled to Cuba to cover Pope John Paul II’s historic visit. She recalled that people thought the visit would be a turning point for those who wanted to practice their religion freely.

“I was looking for my mother’s old apartment and had a chance to talk with some people in the building,” she said. “They asked me, ‘What is it like to practice your religion?’ and I had never thought about that. It amazed me.”

O’Brien said now that she is a mother, she is more cognizant of the message children receive from adults.

“What values of life do we live and not just state,” she asked. “And what values as a nation do we have? It’s both terrifying and freeing to realize the future is in our hands.”

O’Brien quoted President John F. Kennedy’s reference that “the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality.”

“People willing to be a lone voice even when it’s not OK is important,” she said.

“People often define you by your job,” she noted. “Jobs come and go. What defines you as a human being is more important.”

Six Catholic school educators in the Diocese of Sioux City were also honored at the event with awards. The Bishop’s dinner supports more than 6,000 students who attend Catholic schools in the diocese which includes 24 counties in northwest Iowa.