An appetite for risk

Various student groups are always holding conferences and bringing different guests to give lectures on campus. I try to go to ones that might interest me when I can, usually for the sake of hearing what they have to say, but sometimes just for the free food-- these things tend to be hit-or-miss, sometimes I wonder where they find these people.

But today I went to a talk by Andrew Shapiro, the Senior Defense and Foreign Policy Adviser for Senator Hilary Clinton and a graduate of Penn. The talk was presented by the Fox Leadership Program at the Fels Center for Government and Public Policy (for all you aspiring IR, Political Science, Urban Studies and Diplomatic History majors, or anyone else with a related interest, definitely tap into the resources offered by this center) and it was the first time in a while that a speaker held my attention for the entire hour. Not only was he just a very down-to-earth guy with a good sense of humor, but hearing about his career path and how he got to where he is was really encouraging especially given my recent apprehensions and concerns regarding my own uncertain future (Hey Day was great fun and everything but the realization that you only have one year left in college is not at all).

Although Mr. Shapiro was always headed down a successful course, nothing was ever certain and there was no "linear path" as he put it. There was no step-by-step process, and he went through his own share of uncertain times, sleeping on a couch and doing temp work while his friends were working at fancy law firms, investment banks or consulting groups. While at Penn, he never thought he'd ever be so lucky to have the opportunity to get where he is today, but he did so by taking advantage of opportunities as they came, not by following a set of specific guidelines. Instead, he emphasized what he called an "appetite for risk" and the willingness to try out new things, even if it's not always the safest path. When asked where he saw his career headed in the future, he said he still had no idea, despite being in his late 30s. This really put things in perspective for me. After being abroad, especially in such a "tranquilo" society like Argentina's, I learned exactly what having an "appetite for risk" meant and didn't mind uncertainty so much. But sometimes being around so many career-oriented and pre-professional classmates can be a little overwhelming, so it was nice to be reminded that I am only 21 and have plenty of time to decide what I want to do. And then change my mind and decide on something else about 8 times if I want to.