Monday, July 23, 2012

Who Knew I Wasn't Supposed To Amount To Much?


I had lunch recently at The Village Anchor with friend and Kentucky’s Second Lady (I guess that’s how one references the Lt. Gov’s wife) Madeline Abramson.  It was a pleasure to spend time with someone who's been a face of our community since 1989 when she and the now Lt. Gov. married.  We discussed, among other things, how children in rural communities might better be exposed to social, educational and (in general) growth opportunities outside of their current environments.

Madeline Abramson with Kevin Grangier at
TheVillage Anchor Restaurant
Madeline shared with me a number of successful state and local programs that drive exposure of teens to the arts, and various career-oriented programs like one which showcases opportunities in the hospitality industry.  Many of these programs team with  school systems to determine which students are best suited for said opportunities.  As one might guess, the students who are tagged as achievers (based on any number of legitimate criteria) are the ones who typically become candidates for these types of activities.

My question is, how do we expose those who are not necessarily at the top of the achiever list to opportunities that will foster growth and perhaps lay a seed of curiosity?   Take me, for example.  When I was a junior in high school, in a confusing conversation with my advisor, she said to me that I would be best suited for a vocational school; college probably wasn't in my cards (this given my not-so-stellar grades and my significant ADHD).  While I have nothing against vocational schools--they are perfectly right for many people--that path just  didn't seem right for me.  In an act of defiance, I applied to the University of Oxford (UK) because it was the most unlikely school I could think of (I wrote essays, took tests and lied about how it was that I would pay for it), and I got accepted.  My life-book has grown ever since, with that experience defining its first chapter.   

Point is, I wasn't one of the kids who would naturally be chosen to participate in extracurricular growth opportunities, or who was even on the top-25 list of those most likely to succeed.  I was one of those kids, however, who sought exposure and new experiences, and knew in my heart I would be successful at whatever it is I did...if I were just given the chance to do it.   Or even knew that there was a chance to do it.

Fast forward 30 years and I wonder how it is I (we) can help teens--not necessarily just the obvious picks--in communities that do not have the resources or in some cases even the inclination to enlighten kids to environments different than the ones to which they're accustomed.  I can't help but wonder how my life would have turned out if I had taken seriously the words of my counselor, or if I were one of the kids who was never told that I could do whatever I wanted, wherever I wanted (I am blessed that my own parents shared this message frequently).  

For many years now I've toyed with the vision of a program that develops teens by doing nothing more than exposing them to new environments and, therefore, opportunities.  If a spark of curiosity can drive just one student to study underwater biology in Florida; one girl to write music with a composer in New York; or one boy to want to do something other than that which might be expected of him in his rural hometown, then what a powerful--affective--program could happen.  And what a chilling motivator for an overlooked teen who is just on the brink of being "picked," but knows he isn't going to make the cut.   

If anybody else is curious, or sees the same opportunity, let's grab a beer and make it happen!    





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