I regularly help Duke out by interviewing prospective students.  I do this for a few reasons:

1. I really loved my college experience (I met my wife there!) and want to give back to the school.

2. I want to stay in touch with the younger generation.  There was a time when I felt like I intuitively understood teenagers.  But I no longer do, and I think it’s important to stay in tune with the tastes and interests of these kids.

3. It’s a nice balance of positive energy when things around are negative.

There has been a lot of negative energy going around the last few months.  But when I meet with some of these high school students, I am reminded that there are lots of kids who still are ambitious, hopeful, idealistic, and authentic.

I met one of these guys last night.  He was remarkably self aware, had big aspirations, and didn’t seem like he was trying to feed me all the right answers.

I was also impressed by some of his interests.  He started the robotics club in his high school and engages in some pretty sophisticated competitions with other high school students.  When I was in high school, I had a hard enough time learning how to use excel! Really impressive, and lightened my mood for the night.