Her writing is powerful, her story is inspirational. She is truly one of the great social entrepreneurs of all time. (PS: one of my 9th graders wants to be an entrepreneur, and spelled it correctly the other day...this was my concentration in college and I can't even spell it correctly without the help of spell check)
We had our Institute Kick-Off last Wednesday in Scottsdale; it was a huge pep rally with inspirational stories and montages about how awesome and effective we all will be. Rumors were swirling that Wendy Kopp herself would be our keynote speaker. Wendy Kopp herself! How exciting! We were all preparing to be wowed by her awesomeness and obvious gift at public speaking.
But she was super awkward. Like, fumbling over simple phrases, forgetting where she was, mumbling, shifting her feet, not making eye contact, those kinds of things. Now, I had heard this before, that she was really awkward in person; her 2006 graduation speech at UNC was widely panned. But I thought that maybe in a room full of her acolytes and apologists, she would shine like a rock star.
No, not quite. After a disappointing speech which we nonetheless rewarded with a standing ovation, none of less feeling wowed and inspired by her mere presence. But just looking at TFA, and how it started in a dorm room in Jersey and now has 40,000 alumni working to close the achievement gap all across the country, you still can't help being inspired by the message, if not by the messenger.
peace and love from the grand canyon state,
pb
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