Today, I am thankful for those who choose to trailblaze a novel path.
The one important lesson I’ve learned in my career is that you don’t need to do it alone. We all can benefit from a mentor, and, in my career, I have been blessed to have some eminent teachers who’ve guided me on my path towards success. As a senior leader, I’ve learned that one means by which I can ‘pay it forward’ is by serving as a mentor to a young, aspiring leader. A good mentor cares enough to share wisdom to help guide you along a personal or professionaljourney. A great mentor can be a problem-solving partner that affords some direction but stillchallenges you to think beyond your assumptions. And, the best mentors encourage you to try something different or outside thebox, providing you the encouragement, confidence, and optimism to help you reach beyond your traditional limits or perceived boundaries. In other words, a quintessential mentor gives you the courage to follow your dreamand defy the conventional approach. They give you permission to ‘trailblaze’ your own path.
As we continue our celebration this week of American pioneers who helped build this magnificent nation, I wanted to introduce you to two Americans you may be less familiar with who carved the way for others to follow in their path. Both graduated from small colleges in New England that today are perennial, top-ranked ‘liberal arts’ institutions.
The first individual you should get to know was an American educator and statesman from the Green Mountain State. Born in September of 1795 in northeastern Vermont, Alexander Lucius Twilight was born to parents who were both descendants of African slaves. His parents settled in the small farming town of Bradford, where Alexander followed suit working on neighboring farms in the region. While he labored on these farms, he read books and studied mathematics. In fact, at the rather late age of 20, he enrolled in the Orange County Grammar School and completed all his necessary secondary education courses and the first two years of a college-level curriculum. At the age of 26, he enrolled at Middlebury College, where on this day (Sept 9) in 1823, he became the first African American to receive a college degree from an American university. Alexander would go on to become a minister and educator. He assumed the revered role as the principal of the Vermont Grammar School, while he also served as the minister at the Brownington Congregational Church. Eventually, he was even chosen as a member of the Vermont House of Representatives, becoming the first African American elected to a state legislature.
The second individual with whom I’d like to acquaint you is Grace Hopper. Born in New York City in 1906, Grace graduated with advanced degrees in mathematics, first from Vassar College in 1928 and then Yale University in 1934 (where she became the first woman ever to gain a PhD in mathematics from the Ivy League School). She taught mathematics at Vassar until the United States was drawn into World War II in late 1941. At that time, she enlisted in the US Naval Reserve, where, given her extensive mathematics background, Grace was assigned to work on a secret military project being conducted at Harvard University. In Cambridge, Grace became a lead programmer for the Mark I, the first computer ever produced in this country. As her career progressed, she served integral roles for many prototype computers, including the Mark II, the Mark III, and the UNIVAC computers. She developed a tool, known as the compiler, that would allow for words to be translated into code; in fact, she was also instrumental in developing the first computer language, which would eventually become the Common Business Oriented Language (COBOL). Later in her career, she would play a crucial role in standardizing communication between different computer languages. Yet, what many fondly remember Grace for was identifying the first computer ‘bug’, and I mean this in the most literal sense. While working at Harvard on this day (Sept 9) in 1947, the Mark computer started to malfunction. As she and her colleagues opened the hardware to troubleshoot the short-circuit, they discovered that a tiny moth had been caught in one of the relays. Upon its removal, the computer began computing properly. Eventually, Grace would finish her career with the Navy, retiring after a long, successful career at the age of 79! In 1991, for her all incredible contributions to the field of computer science, she became the first female recipient of the National Medal of Technology.
Both Alexander Twilight and Grace Hopper are wonderful exemplars of Americans who chose not to follow traditional, preordained career paths. They both trailblazed new roads for others to follow. Today, we honor their legacy with Twilight Hall, the home of the Classics and Philosophy Departments on the campus of Middlebury College, and the USS Hopper, a guided missile destroyer first launched in 1996. My sincere gratitude goes out to all pioneers who defy convention for the betterment of humanity
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