May 13, 2009

API* Heritage Post #13: The Next Generation

Just when you think you can lose hope for the new generation of students coming up through colleges and graduate schools, the summer interns begin at your organization, and you realize that there are still folks with that fire in their belly for community work.

Our first intern started this week at my workplace, and she fit right in. Her personal story is one thing, but to see that a young person has so much energy, enthusiasm, and even the sheer will to learn is a really encouraging thing. I know friends who have become embittered about the excesses of young people, or even their disinterest or entitlement (I'm sure I've written about this here too). But I definitely feel like that's only one piece of the puzzle: there's hope out there. And it may be all the hope our community really has, if most of my generation is bitter now.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have the audacity to be hopeful? Ha! But seriously, that's awesome. One thing I have to give facebook credit for is that I actually love getting online updates from the old student organizations I was a part of and hearing about current students keeping up the good fight.

Rage said...

Yeah - you know, that's a really good point. And it's just nice to tap into what students are doing. My intern's interest in... everything... and her enthusiasm when I tell her about some of the things I've seen or been around for makes me feel good, even if it makes me feel quite old.