Looking back at emails, found one in utter disbelief.

Because my Whitman account is closing, I decided to take one last nostalgic look in my inbox and found this gem:

date Sat, Sep 16, 2006 at 7:55 AM subject Re: [nowar_events] Potential Speaker

hide details 9/16/06

I say yes to this guy, it would be worthwhile to get him to come.

valerie



Quoting valuseam@whitman.edu:

Hey team!
Since we didn't get a chance to talk after the meeting on Tuesday, I wanted to let you guys know about a potential speaker. Here's the information:

Name: Greg Mortenson
Author of: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations One School at a Time (2006)
Occupation: Founder and Director of Central Asia Institute
He is dedicated to humanitarianism and promoting education for girls in volatile regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The organization has set up over 55 schools and provided over 20,000 children with literacy. In 2005, he received the Men's Journal "Anti-Terror" Award and the Red Cross "Humanitarian of the Year" Award.

So, what are the group's thoughts? Should we bring him or it is a no-go? Send me a response: yay or nay and please consider: do you think he would make a good contribution to our cause and the campus as a whole?

Whaaat? I had a close brush of fate with the famous Greg Mortenson and it didn't happen? I only say this because he has been so incredibly inspiring in pursuit here in Thailand. I know it, we are fated to meet someday in the future.

If you have time, please read Three Cups of Tea and Stones into Schools. Greg Mortenson, my idol and future employer, is amazing.