- Growing up I didn't
have a lot of experience
or background with college.
But my best friend's father
was a mechanical engineer,
and he took my friend and me
to Kansas State University's
open house the spring of our junior year.
And while I was there I saw this machine
that peeled a grapefruit.
Not just the outside
peel of the grapefruit,
but the individual sections,
and I remember watching that movie
of this machine that peels a grapefruit
and thinking I want to
do that when I grow up.
(upbeat music)
When I was in junior high and high school,
we talked some about college.
But because neither of my parents
had attended college it was not something
that was really high on the priority list.
And when I was in junior high I used
to go to my to work with my father.
Very early in the morning he repaired
the stock quotation boards
for stock brokerage houses.
And I'd help pull wires
and test vacuum tubes.
And I remember they were
sending him back to school
to try to get some additional education
as vacuum tubes were being replaced
by transistors and digital electronics.
He was not able to make that transition
and as a result lost his job and ended up
taking a number of other jobs.
Which was kind of a hard
time for our family.
And for him.
Today I recognize how
the college preparation
that I had positioned
me to be able to adapt
to a changing world.
When you think of how fast
technology's changing today,
a college education just increases
and has increased so much
in terms of importance.
Again not because of what you learn,
but because you learn how to learn.
One of the big challenges for me
when I went to college was there weren't
a lot of people around me that were
familiar with the process.
My parents had not gone to college.
And so every time I did
somethin' it was kind
of like the first time.
Val and I have four adult children,
and all four of em' went to college.
In fact all four of em'
have Masters Degree's;
two of em' from Georgia Tech.
And certainly the fact that I was
had a college degree and went to college,
made that very important
in terms of our children
and what the expectations
were for our children.
And we see that time and again
with first generation students.
That they understand the
value of college education,
and that understanding helps them pass
that knowledge and that the importance
of a college degree to their children.
I know there's some students who
maybe because of their family situation
or their circumstances are not
in a position where they can go to college
in the traditional manner.
And the advice I give to
them is don't give up.
There are a huge number
of alternative paths
by which people can pursue
a college education.
Some of em' are challenging,
it'll be hard,
maybe difficult, but don't give up!
Keep after it,
it'll be well worth it in the long run.
Not just for you,
but for your children
and for their children,
and for generations to come.
(upbeat music)
