Future intersections
DuPont executive speaks with students at Change-Maker's Lunch
2:29 p.m., Sept. 22, 2014--“Always be looking to the future.” No better statement could sum up the theme of the inaugural Change-Maker’s Lunch, hosted by University of Delaware Residence Life and Housing on Sept. 12.
Gil Meyer, a director of issues management for DuPont worldwide, and a group of first-year students spent nearly two hours at Vita Nova — the University’s student-run dining operation — discussing jobs of the future and where to find the “intersections.”
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“The timing [for the lunch] is perfect at this point in your careers. I wish someone had talked to me at this point,” Meyer said.
During the lunch, he went on to tell students about how stopping for a man selling pottery from the bed of a red pickup truck changed the course of his life.
“The man had been living on the street since second grade, until after World War II, when he came back and foresaw an opportunity for the U.S. to buy land for the interstate highway system. The man sold everything he owned to buy 100 acres where knew the government would want to put intersections.
“Eventually the government asked to buy his land. He took the money, sold the rest of the land to gas stations, etc., and started all over again. The man said to me, ‘I’m a millionaire, I don’t need to work.’ He was selling the pottery because he wanted to, for fun, ” Meyer said.
Years later, Meyer still does not know the man’s name (he didn’t ask), but he never forgot the lesson the man taught him.
“You need to be the interstate intersections. They are not only to going to need [what you have] — they’ll have to have it,” he said.
As a local change-maker from the Wilmington-Newark area using his career as platform to make a difference in the community at large, Meyer was an enthusiastic speaker, perfect to kick off the monthly Change-Makers Lunches series.
From this lunch series, designed for first-year students to connect with the local change-makers like Meyer, Residence Life and Housing hopes to spark conversations among the students and provide opportunities for constructive and informative dialogue.
This hope was realized during the lunch when two students — Madeline Messinger, a fine arts major, and Victoria McMachan, an energy and environmental Policy major — discovered their mutual appreciation for art and the environment, and how they had each considered the other’s major before entering UD.
“Although I am an art major,” Messinger said, “I also have a great interest in the environment and I firmly believe that college is a time to explore many disciplines outside your major. I’m already thinking of proposing a green roof garden, and perhaps a sustainable art project to beautify the grounds.”
Lunch coordinators Liz Short, residence hall coordinator of Russell CDE, Lane and Thompson halls, and Christina King, complex coordinator of Dickinson Hall, had one goal in mind for the lunch: shared communication.
“We hope that students gain new perspective, understand how they can use their skills to positively influence others and share all they gain with their peers,” said Short. “There is an expectation that if you attend, you share what you learn with your complex.”
Participants from Lane and Thompson halls have already followed up what they learned: one student gave a short presentation at her September in-hall floor meeting and another, along with a resident assistant (RA), is planning a vision board-making event -- an idea Meyer gave them – in which fellow residents can visually plan out what they want to accomplish this year.
“Your job is to find out what’s coming and look for the intersections. You have to race ahead to the future,” Meyer said. “[The future is] so exciting. Oh, it’s awesome!”
The next lunch will take place on Oct. 17 at noon, with graphic designer and entrepreneur Brad Wason, a Wilmington native. Wason, the creative director at DMG Marketing, has worked on many community projects and start-ups.
All interested students are encouraged to apply and the link will go live on Oct. 1. Those who are interested in speaking at an upcoming lunch, or want to recommend a speaker, can email Short at lshort@udel.edu or King at cking@udel.edu.
Article by Niki Reagan