This is who I have gotten to hear speak or will get to hear speak in the near future.
March 1 – Dr. Muhammad Yunus: 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Winner
March 4 – Paul Magelli: Was a millionaire entrepreneur by age 26…in the 1950s
March 11 – John W. Simons: Senior Personal Finance Editor, Black Enterprise
April 8 – Jerry Colangelo: Former owner of the Phoenix Suns/Phoenix Mercury/Arizona Diamondbacks, Director of USA Basketball
April 14 – Shellito Richards: CIO & VP of Technology, State Farm Insurance
April 21 – Gary M. Reiner: Senior Vice President & CIO, General Electric Company
It is times like these when I remember why I went to college. Not that getting an education isn’t important. But at our freshman convocation the Chancellor said your experience outside of the classroom is as important, if not more important that your experience in it. I took his words to heart and believe he is absolutely right. One of the best things about being in school is the number of opportunities that it presents. The ability to hear all of these brilliant and accomplished people speak in a two month span free of charge is awesome. I applaud my University for making an effort to interest, excite, and motivate its students.
The larger idea here is how can putting a different look in front of today’s youth impact their future? By different look I mean something that isn’t glorified in the media and pop culture. This country’s at-risk youth see athletes and entertainers, and not much else. They figure those are their options. These are generalizations but they are relevant to the overall concept that kids don’t know what is out there for them. Many of them have seen little to nothing in the way of successful people who never picked up a mic or dribbled a ball.
These kids are not dumb. They are far from it. When they see a successful person and have an opportunity to hear them speak they are all ears. They are often fascinated and amazed by the stories they are told. They may not retain everything they hear but each little thing they catch molds how they think and behave. Take a kid out of his or her environment and expose them to things they have never experienced and it will stick with them. They will be forced to think and question.
That is what this is about. Give these youths an opportunity to expand their thought. To learn that their is more than they know and give them the thirst to discover it. Something to reach for, an example of somebody who has what they want, AND the guidance to get there. These are pages in a playbook for success. Breaking a cycle of poverty goes beyond what I have talked about but I feel that these are realistic measures that schools and communities can aspire to implementing in order to play their part in the solution.
