Credit: Dan MacDonald
Every year I conduct admissions interviews for my alma mater. I love getting the chance to meet with high school seniors to talk with them about their accomplishments, and to get a sense for what their goals are for the future.
After each interview I come away amazed by the intellectual curiosity of these students. I am inspired by the way these teenagers are connected with their communities and are working hard to make a difference. I am humbled by their drive, their passion, and their ambition to make an impact on the world.
One of my recent interviews was with a young man who spends his “free time” in a lab at the University of Minnesota helping research possibilities around “tumor suppressor genes.” When I was in high school I thought breeding fruit flies to track eye color changes was a cool experiment. Targeted gene therapies were a little out of my scope. He was so enthusiastic telling me about the work he’s doing. It was a privilege to tap into the mind of someone who is so excited about learning.
It reminded me of an article I read about a 17-year-old girl in California who just won a $100,000 prize from a national science contest sponsored by Siemens. She’s been conducting research as an “after school project” that could lead to a cure for cancer. Angela Zhang created a nanoparticle that can seek out cancer cells and kill them, leaving healthy cells unharmed.
Then there is the story of Samantha Garvey, who was living in a homeless shelter when she got word that she made it to the finals of a national Intel science competition. She had spent two years studying the effects of the Asian short crab on the mussel population of a salt marsh in Long Island. Samantha and her family have since been able to find a home. Samantha is hoping to go to Yale or Brown next year.
These stories, and countless others, demonstrate a profound truth that we need to embrace in this country. Every single child has potential, and the opportunity cost of failing to nurture that potential is beyond measure.
We have no idea where the next Einstein is going to come from. We don’t know who our next Steve Jobs will be. There are so many children out there with potential to change the world but maybe they don’t have a home, or food, or books, or parents to read to them, or a teacher to inspire them.
We talk a lot in this country about leveraging resources and return on investment. It’s time we focus on our greatest untapped resource: children. If we can unleash the collective power of ALL of the young people around us, cancer and global warming and a host of other “unsolvable” problems don’t stand a chance.
So the questions is… how do we do it? How do we reach people who are falling through the cracks? Please submit your thoughts… maybe we can come up with some ideas of our own!
