I got a note today from a young woman I first met last summer while teaching at a debate camp for the Los Angeles and Southern California Urban Debate Leagues. She was one of the smartest, nicest, and most mature teenagers I’ve had the pleasure to work with, and she’s kept me updated throughout her college application process. I just now got this note from her announcing that she’ll be attending UMass Amherst in the fall.
This is good news for me because she’s already told me she’d like to volunteer with the Boston Debate League. As I’ve said before, alumni of any urban debate league are worth their weight in gold because of their dedication to the activity, their ability to connect with our students, and their experience with debate in general.
I found her note touching, so I’ll share:
“This is a hard note to write, but I figured I might as well tell everyone at the same time. I have decided to go to Amherst. To all my host at all the colleges that I stayed over night at, I would like to say thank you. To all the friends that I made at all these other schools that I visited, I hope that our friendship will not die.To everyone who wants me to stay in California, I will see you in 7 years. To my family all over the world, I love ya’ll so much. To the people that I randomly met here and there, you guys are awesome we need to keep in touch. And finally to my class mates and former classmates, who says people form Jordan can’t make it out of the ghetto and do something wonderful with their lives. Thanks to everyone one more time and I know that I have made the right decision.”