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| A Generation of Talent |
June 21, 2005 |
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Dear Friends,
Duncan MacIvor wasn`t particularly interested in sports.
What he really liked was art. And so, his parents found him an art teacher who cultivated his gift for pastels. Even though he is only a Junior in High School, his talent is obvious.
Last week, a beautiful pastel drawing of a Roadrunner that Duncan did was unveiled in the corridor that leads to the Capitol as one of the pieces in our annual Congressional Art Exhibition.
In addition to a $200 savings bond from Sandia Federal Credit Union, Southwest Airlines flew him and his parents to Washington for the unveiling.
Duncan is one of several impressive young people whom I`ve had the chance to meet recently.
Last weekend we had our annual reception for our students heading to Service Academies and their parents. There are 19 from Albuquerque this year going to West Point, Annapolis, the Air Force Academy and the Merchant Marine Academy. If you are wondering, that is a lot of kids.
I try to stay in touch with "my" cadets as they go through the Academies and several of our recent graduates came back to our reception to be recognized for their own achievement as well as to give the next class some advice and help send them on their way.
Bobby Harms just graduated from the Air Force Academy. I first met him when he entered a beautiful photograph into our art competiton as a high school student. A good baseball player in High School, Bobby is a newly minted Second Lieutenant and is on his way to pilot training.
Stephen Joosten`s was a High School soccer player from Moriarty when he joined my youth advisory council -- the precursor to the high school internship program we now run. He spent a year at NMMI before being accepted at West Point. He just earned his Lieutenant`s bars and is on his way to Fort Gordon in the Signal Corps, a more mature version of the enthusiastic teenage leader I once knew.
In fact, this was my largest year group to graduate from West Point -- eight cadets from Albuquerque joined the "long grey line" of West Point graduates. In addition to Stephen Joosten, Ran Du, Adam Creel, Sara Tracy, and Aaron Doft were able to come Saturday to help send off the next class of cadets. It was great to see all of them and to hear about their plans and first assignments.
We have some great young people in New Mexico. It`s an honor to know them.
Wish you were here,
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