Accidental Greatness?
Sometimes I get really retrospective. I start thinking about where I am in my life and how I got here. It's a nice way to spend a lazy sunday afternoon.
I have come to realize that the best things in my life have been things that I did not seek out. Starting with DeMolay, being a People to People Student Ambassador, Speech Team and Choir in High School, Indiana University and Apple. It all just kinda happened. Here's a little synopsis...
DeMolay: At the tender age of 12, I attended a Christmas party at my dad's Masonic Lodge. There I was approached by Sam and Dan Pomeroy and they told me a bit about this organization called DeMolay. It was a fraternity for young men between 12 and 21 that was sponsored by Masons. My dad is a Mason, so I figured it couldn't be all bad. I joined, and 9 years later, I have gotten almost every award possible from the fraternity and I can't imagine what my life would be like without it.
People to People Student Ambassador: I was nominated by a teacher (I never found out who) to be a student ambassador to Australia and New Zealand. Thanks to my family, especially my parents and grandmother, I was able to raise over 6,000 dollars to take the 3 week international trip. It really opened my eyes to how people viewed America in 1999.
Speech Team: In High School, I participated in the speech team all 4 years. I tried just about all of the 13 events offered. I owe my public speaking ability to my coaches, Molly (Thomas) Kappes, Adam Baez and Marc Ryser. They were a lot of fun to work with, and I was lucky to have had the privilege of learning from them.
Choir: Again, in High School, I was taking a trip to Titanic the musical in Chicago with the speech team. I was walking down the street with some of my friends singing something (can't remember) and the Choir director grabbed me and said "why aren't you in my choir". Within the next 6 months I was involved with 3-4 different singing groups and I continue developing my vocal skills to this day.
Indiana University: When it came to Higher Education, I didn't have much push to do any certain thing or go to a certain school. I had already been accepted to the Indiana Institute of Technology when I got the chance to go to Indiana University. I was intrigued by the Informatics program, so I decided to gamble with the Summer Freshman Institute program. SFI was a second chance program for High School grads who didn't have good enough grades for IU. This program gave me a chance to prove myself, and 4 years later...here I am...ready to graduate in December of 2005 with an Informatics degree...wow.
Apple: My involvement with Apple was truly caused by being in the right place at the right time. As a freshman here at IU, I started hanging out at the computer section of the bookstore. The manager saw that I had some potential, so he asked me to work there. After I worked there for about two years, I heard that there was a position open for Apple Campus Representative. I spoke to Dick Hamstra, who is the Account Executive I now work with, and the next thing I know I am working with Apple directly. It has been an amazingly cool experience. I have made friends and networking contacts nationwide, and I am (hopefully) on the verge of getting an internship at Apple headquarters this summer. I have found that it is really easy and fun to sell and support a product that I believe in. Again, this is a fun and amazing job.
If you are still reading at this point, I must have written something kinda interesting. I think this has been the most bare bones description of the last 10 years of my life I could have possibly written. Maybe for future entries I will expand on some of these topics and recognize more people that have impacted my life so far.
posted by Mike Sassman at
10:52 PM
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