During the summer before my senior year of high school, I had the privilege of being one
of approximately 200 West Virginia students who were selected to participate in the WestVirginia Governor’s Honors Academy. During that time, I made some incredible
friends, many of whom I have been privileged to stay in contact with even today
thanks to technologies like Facebook. Friends that I made at GHA have moved on
to incredible positions of leadership in West Virginia and around the world. I
remember our summer at GHA being filled with amazing field trips and fun lectures that pushed our thinking about
ourselves, our state, and the world. I also remember a whole lot of laughs and adventures in what was for me my first significant period of time away from home.
And last week, I was able to return to GHA. This time, I was
among those lecturers presenting (hopefully I was fun too). I was invited to keynote the first evening of
the last week of the academy. My subject was Nuru International, Nuru's West
Virginia roots, and how this generation of West Virginians could join the fight to end of
extreme poverty.
It was wonderful sharing with these students on a number of
levels. As an organization, Nuru has some deep West Virginia roots. Jake,
Nuru’s CEO and founder, hails from Preston County. Two of Nuru’s board members,
Andy Cogar and John Hancox, reside in West Virginia. Not only that, but Andy
and I both attended GHA when we were in high school and it had a profound
impact on each of us. I have been privileged to represent Nuru and share with a
wide variety of audiences, but for me, it’s always a little extra special when
I get to share with fellow West Virginians, particularly young leaders.
The people of our state when at our best have always exemplified
an ethos of service and of caring not only for the neighbor across the street,
but also the neighbor across the world. And folks from many small towns around
the world can probably empathize with the difficulty these young people might
have when it comes to thinking about the kind of impact they could have in this
world. It’s so easy to let our minds tell us that coming from small towns, it
just feels next to impossible to make a difference in this world.
As I shared Nuru with these students, I offered them a
concrete reminder that it is possible to
have a global impact coming from the small towns where they are from. I
told them that there are more Nuru supporters in West Virginia than in any
other state, and that Jake had just been selected by peers to give remarks and
introduce former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush at an event in
Texas just a few days before.
Additionally, I told them about some friends of mine I’ve
met during the time since we started Nuru. These friends were all young people,
and they were courageous enough to believe they could make a difference
fighting extreme poverty—and they were successful. I told them about how a
school in West Virginia became the first school in the country to organize a
full week of events for Nuru.
Before I shared with the larger group, I was able to grab
dinner with a few of the students and hear more about their stories, their
hopes, and their dreams. I told them about how when me, Jake, John, and a
number of others met at WVU, we were dreaming big dreams, and we were
privileged to be part of a community of friends who have stayed in touch and
worked to help one another make a contribution in this world, and that they should strive to do the same for each other. Honestly, when I was in high school, I didn’t really know much about the social challenges in this world,
but these high school students were incredibly globally aware.
As I listened to each of them share their plans, all I kept
thinking was this. These young people are incredibly focused. And as long as
they maintain their focus, they are really going to change the world. I went to
GHA with a hope that I could inspire these students, and I pray that I did.
But, as I left, I thought, these students have really inspired me. They leave
me incredibly hopeful for the future of our great state, of our country, and of
this world as they go forward and rise to positions of greater and greater
influence.
May this GHA class continue to grow in its leadership and
its ability to influence the direction of our state, our country, and the world
for good. And may you and I be mindful of the responsibility we have to
continue to live out an ethos of service and work hard while we can to make the
world better as this younger generation looks to us for guidance as they rise
to the challenge of leading and shaping tomorrow's world.
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