Something Positive

I know I know I was absent last week but  I have a good excuse….

There seems to be a common theme that somehow our young students of high school age have lost their way or are not up to the task of assuming adulthood and controlling the reins of society.  I must say given the current occupants of the seats of power it really is not going to be a very high bar to surpass.

I find Pete Buttigieg’s comments more accurate and worthy of listening “Rarely does history assign so many forms of urgent work to a single generation.” “Young people have moral authority and imagination and courage in ways that are very very much needed at this time.”

Comments like that send a positive message rather than the moronic comments emanating from the Secretary of Education and the White House.

I can attest to the fact that on my one sampling the new generation is well up to the task and prepared.  I missed my writing last week as I was giving a lecture to 500 hi-achieving high school seniors from around the country at UC Santa Barbara’s pre-college program. 

I was honored to speak to these amazing students.  I can report that these representatives of the new generation of University students will be a welcome addition to the leadership of the world.  They were attentive, engaged and were not on their cell phones but instead were taking handwritten notes.  The most enjoyable and revealing part of the afternoon was during  the question-and-answer portion.  I stayed for over 45 minutes answering a myriad of questions about the importance of connection and building relationships.  This group of young future professionals were articulate and thoughtful. 

It was the highlight of my summer.  Most importantly it emphasized for me that these students and their generation will be a welcome relief to what we are living with.  They are empathetic, they listen and they follow up.  Ignore  the many broad-brush comments that demean these students.  They carry themselves with confidence as they have the ability to find solutions while creating a more inclusive society.

I am thankful to be given the opportunity and will look forward to coming back next year to speak to the next group of hi-achieving young adults.

As if my week were not positive enough --- I returned to San Francisco for the 40th anniversary dinner celebrating the “No Kid Hungry” campaign of Share Our Strength.  The amazing organization co-founded by Billy and Debbie Shore.

In spite of the head winds thrown at them by the current administration Share Our Strength has made incredible progress at eliminating childhood hunger in the US and has now taken their effort globally.  Thank you to the individual efforts of the attendees at this 40th anniversary dinner at Nancy Oakes’s amazing Boulevard Restaurant.   But these events do not happen without a team of  incredibly talented chefs – Dana Younkin, Daisy and Greg Ryan, Melissa Perello, Elizabeth Falkner, Kelly Mariani and the Scribe Wine Family, assisted by the amazing staff of Boulevard Restaurant led by Carlye Linborg-Sandry, Leslie Krause and Jacob Paroyan.

With gratitude for an amazing and inspiring week…..