Dear Imaginary Friends,
I had the pleasure of going to the Newseum this week to attend a Tulane Alumni event. In attendance was Walter Isaacson. Mr. Isaacson, who graduated from Harvard and Oxford, was a writer for Time magazine, CEO of CNN, and is now the president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, a think tank. He introduced Scott Cowen, Tulane's brave president who brought Tulane through a really tenuous time, post Hurricane Katrina. He mentioned that we all have no idea how staggering the costs of rebuilding were, and that Tulane almost ceased to exist.
Because of President Cowen's ingenuity, Tulane has not only recovered, but thrived. Tulane now has to beat applicants away with a stick. Two years ago, Tulane had more applicants than any other university in the country. To quell the throngs, the administration decided to add an extra essay to discourage those who were not serious about attending. It helped, a little. So this year, Tulane was only number 2 in the nation for applications.
What drives this phenomena, you may ask? I feel that is is the inherent idealism of young people, who care about helping others. Tulane now has a community service program in which all four years, undergraduates must perform community service. Even the medical students work in community clinics. After Tulane Medical School was flooded out, two med students and a cardboard sign posted out on Tulane Avenue, near the demolished Charity Hospital, to serve as an ad hoc clinic for indigents. They dispensed medical exams and advice right there on the street. That takes dedication. Tulane today has 92 small community centers serving indigents all over the city.
It is this kind of spirit of philanthropy that really moves me. And it apparently moves many others. In attendance at the Tulane event, was Eric Holder, the United States Attorney General. He was there with his lovely daughter Maya, who is a rising Freshman journalism major at Tulane. I had the privilege of discussing New Orleans and Tulane with them both.
I hope that your college experience was as good as mine, in beautiful New Orleans, learning and living my youth at Tulane University.
Your imaginary friend,
Patsie
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