Phenomenal Fathers - role models of African American fatherhood

The adopted twins graduated in May from Louisiana State University's (LSU) Medical School in New Orleans. Christopher, who specialized in family medicine, and his sister Kelly, whose concentration was in pediatric medicine, will begin their residency in the fall. Alvin Garibaldi's biological daughter Veronica is in her junior year at Xavier University. She also wants to be a doctor. Meanwhile, the family's eldest biological son, Brad, will major in computer engineering when he enters LSU in the fall. The family's youngest two sons--Philip, 17, and Michael, 13--are doing well at local high schools.

Being a part of a large family was nothing new to Alvin Garibaldi, who was used to having "a lot of people around the house," he says. "I love large families."

Loving large families is one thing, being able to support one is another. Garibaldi remembers enduring a period of time when he was paying more than $10,000 a year in private-school tuition for the six children (one was in day-care, three were in elementary and two were in secondary school). "Tuition ate us alive," Alvin Garibaldi says. "It got to the point where we paid tuition first and bills after that. So needless to say, my credit rating suffered."

Through it all, Alvin Garibaldi has found time to serve as a member on several local boards, professional organizations and advisory committees, go back to school to pursue his MBA, and build a noteworthy career. In his position as director of customer service and governmental affairs with Entergy, a private utility company, he serves as liaison between the company and the government, as well as directs operations of three customer-care centers in New Orleans.

Leslie Robinson Garibaldi, a New Orleans schoolteacher, calls her husband an "excellent provider," and says his strength has kept the family going through tough times. "My husband is a very brilliant man," she says. "He allowed me to take in [my relative's] children. He actually didn't have to do it. And he treated them with the same love that he treated our children."

Alvin Garibaldi says that from day one, all of the children have been the same in his eyes. "We tried to make sure they had all the same advantages as our kids," he says. "They have left such a good impression on our kids. The way they have performed in school and the type of people they are. It has been great."

While his wife likes to tell the story of how every Christmas Eve her husband would sleep on the sofa by the Christmas tree just to see their children's faces in the morning, Alvin Garibaldi downplays the remarkable job he has done as a father, instead preferring to give the credit to his wife, who he says was really the one responsible for the way the children turned out. "She's the one who did all of the work," he says. "She deserves the praise."

He says he was only doing what a father is supposed to do--raise children with the kind of love and compassion that will spur them into becoming caring, productive members of society.