This evening I attended a Smart Talk. We host these several times every year, and the basic premise is that we bring a graduate from the school, someone who did something remarkable, and they come give a lecture for students. This time we invited a General in Intelligence who graduated from our ROTC program in the 70’s.
He told some great stories about his days in college but what resonated most was what he listed as things he learned at McDaniel. As a senior I am extremely concerned about what to do with my liberal arts degree, and his list made me proud to soon be a graduate here. Some of them I probably could have found elsewhere (humor, for instance) but a few were things that are part of what make McDaniel so wonderful.
The first thing he listed was being taught how to think. This is incredibly valuable, the small classes and engagement of the teachers encourages this understanding of how to think problems through. As a favorite teacher tells me, college is NOT a series of answers but teaching one how to ask questions and how to think. He also emphasized McDaniel teaching him how to work hard, which I relate to given that I have three jobs and five classes. I have learned from him that these are valuable qualities, and that though I do not want to be an army General they are useful skills. This talk made me appreciate my McDaniel education and feel better about graduation.
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