[Hank 91]

I checked the first option about the undergraduates, but only because it was the closest fit. Had there been a bubble that said "The 40 Year Commitment Will Change Your Life Forever," I'd have clicked it.

My four years at Stanford were the best four years of my life up to that point (it gets even better after that), and that time changed my life forever. From an economic standpoint, it hasn't made a difference. I was lucky enough that my parents didn't see the tuition as an investment from which they expected a financial return, so I was able to follow my heart and become an English major. (At least a couple of my freshman dorm mates arrived with clear mandates to go into engineering.)

My Stanford degree hasn't helped me in my teaching career. Probably more than half of my colleagues got their degrees from Long Beach State. There's an extraordinary lack of emphasis on undergraduate education in the teaching profession; all that matters to most is that you've jumped through the right hoops. I noticed this soon after I decided on this career path. As a senior at Stanford, I met my girlfriend's parents and thought I'd have an in with her mom since she was a teacher. When I told her I'd be pursuing that career as well, she asked with visible disdain, "Why did you go to Stanford to become a teacher?" I could've gotten a degree from any school in America and still gotten a job teaching middle school English, but I would be neither the teacher nor the person that I am today.

But Stanford has given so much more than digits in a bank account. I met all of my best friends at Stanford, and most of them were in my freshman dorm, Rinconada. The second person I met, probably about thirty minutes after checking into the dorm, stood next to me as the best man at my wedding. I did the same for him. The quality of people that I met at Stanford continues to amaze me. (You won't be surprised to know that that hasn't changed. When I asked Kyle Murphy and Blake Martinez if their Stanford experiences had lived up to their expectations, they both gushed about the people on campus.)

Stanford taught me to give my best effort in all things, even if I didn't always give my best effort while I was there. It taught me that learning never stops.

And now, twenty-four years after graduating, I'm still incredibly proud to be a part of this institution.

[Hank 91]

I checked the first option about the undergraduates, but only because it was the closest fit. Had there been a bubble that said "The 40 Year Commitment Will Change Your Life Forever," I'd have clicked it.

My four years at Stanford were the best four years of my life up to that point (it gets even better after that), and that time changed my life forever. From an economic standpoint, it hasn't made a difference. I was lucky enough that my parents didn't see the tuition as an investment from which they expected a financial return, so I was able to follow my heart and become an English major. (At least a couple of my freshman dorm mates arrived with clear mandates to go into engineering.)

My Stanford degree hasn't helped me in my teaching career. Probably more than half of my colleagues got their degrees from Long Beach State. There's an extraordinary lack of emphasis on undergraduate education in the teaching profession; all that matters to most is that you've jumped through the right hoops. I noticed this soon after I decided on this career path. As a senior at Stanford, I met my girlfriend's parents and thought I'd have an in with her mom since she was a teacher. When I told her I'd be pursuing that career as well, she asked with visible disdain, "Why did you go to Stanford to become a teacher?" I could've gotten a degree from any school in America and still gotten a job teaching middle school English, but I would be neither the teacher nor the person that I am today.

But Stanford has given so much more than digits in a bank account. I met all of my best friends at Stanford, and most of them were in my freshman dorm, Rinconada. The second person I met, probably about thirty minutes after checking into the dorm, stood next to me as the best man at my wedding. I did the same for him. The quality of people that I met at Stanford continues to amaze me. (You won't be surprised to know that that hasn't changed. When I asked Kyle Murphy and Blake Martinez if their Stanford experiences had lived up to their expectations, they both gushed about the people on campus.)

Stanford taught me to give my best effort in all things, even if I didn't always give my best effort while I was there. It taught me that learning never stops.

And now, twenty-four years after graduating, I'm still incredibly proud to be a part of this institution.