Issue date: 9/13/04 Section: News

By Brandi Dunn

A&M President Robert Gates shared his personal tips for success with student leaders Thursday at Melrose Apartments in the first-time event "Mingling with the President."

The event, organized by Andrei Duta, assistant lecturer in group communications and Melrose management gave students the opportunity to dine with the president while gaining insight from his personal and professional experience. The idea for the program "Mingling with the President" was conceived more than a year ago, after Duta briefly crossed paths with Gates at faculty convocation.

"He fit my description of success: service to many," Duta said.

Duta said he would like to continue this program in the future with other speakers.

In his address to the students, Gates stressed the importance of hard work, saying that simply working 9-to-5 won't cut it.

He said to be successful, one should be a problem solver, rather than a problem maker or giver.

"What will set you apart from others is when you go to your boss and say, 'I have a problem, but I think I have a solution,'" he said.

Gates reminded students that they will sometimes fail, but success depends on how that failure is handled.

"Leaders are people (who) stand up, dust themselves off, and say, well, that wasn't very much damn fun - I don't think I'll do that again," he said.

Gates also revealed the heart of his personal vision for A&M.

"I believe (A&M) is a unique American institution that can and should be one of the handful at the very top of the universities of the United States," Gates said.

Gates said what makes A&M special is that it will be the only university on the top rung of among American universities that has a heart as well as a brain.

"It places importance on values, family, loyalty, patriotism, character, a sense of tradition and spirit," Gates said. "If A&M did not have the unique tradition of spirit and culture, we would just be another big education factory. There are a bunch of them in the country, including over in Austin."

Gates, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, concluded by saying A&M and the CIA had more in common than either would like to admit.

He said both believe they are not understood by anybody else, have a strong sense of their contribution to this country and possess a high sense of pride in their capabilities.

"I personally thought Dr. Gates' speech was mesmerizing," said Johnny Malddonado, a junior philosophy major. "The 10 steps of leadership he talked about were very inspiring."

Maldonado described "Mingling with the President" as a moment of a lifetime.

"You don't just get those opportunities all the time," Maldonado said. "He's an inspiring leader to look up to."

Maldonado said it would be great if the event could continue each year with the same small, personal atmosphere.

Freshman biomedical sciences major Fallon Faires said she thought the speech was going to be a superficial talk about success, but was surprised that it was more in depth.

"He backed up everything he said with his real life experiences," Faires said. "He actually knew how to apply what he was telling us."

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools