Matt and Sarah Hasselbeck, Bruce Springsteen welcome first-year students in separate kickoff events
Matt Hasselbeck �97 and Sarah Egnaczyk Hasselbeck �97
With a high quotient of star power, the online kickoff to this year聽Portico course聽got nearly 700 student attendees thinking about the purpose of work, faith, and family. The webinar featured聽聽founder Scott Harrison being interviewed by Matt Hasselbeck �97 and Sarah Egnaczyk Hasselbeck �97.聽
The met on the Heights, where he was the Eagles� football quarterback and she was the field hockey goalkeeper. Both attended the Carroll School and took part in service trips. They married in 2000 and continued charity work even as they moved across the country for Matt job as a QB in the NFL, while Sarah worked as a CPA for PWC and the couple began raising three children. The family has been involved with Charity: Water for several years, even traveling to Malawi, Africa, in 2014 to visit some of the nonprofit 56,000 clean water projects. 淲ater changed everything for each one of those villages,� recalled Matt Hasselbeck.
As Portico students read over the summer in his book聽Thirst: A Story of Redemption, Compassion, and a Mission to Bring Clean Water to the World, Harrison was a hard-partying nightclub promoter who traded his bacchanalian lifestyle for a life devoted to service, focused on bringing clean drinking water to Third World villages that lack that basic amenity. With an innovative funding model, Harrison organization has raised $475 million and is on track to provide potable water to 11 million people across 29 countries.
After he took a few questions from the Hasselbecks, students used the Zoom chat function to pump Harrison for advice on launching their own socially conscious careers. One asked about networking, and the straight-talking Harrison urged his listeners to be more organized than himself. 淲e just moved, and my wife found a giant Ziploc bag full of thousands of business cards,� he said. 淪he couldn檛 get me to throw them out. I said, 楾here gold in one of those cards!櫇
Be patient with prospective donors, Harrison added. It might take time for someone to decide your organization is credible. And don檛 become discouraged when they buy themselves Lamborghinis while you檙e waiting for them to make that decision, he said. 淵ou can檛 be sarcastic when they檙e showing off their garage with ten cars. But you can檛 fake it, either. Just know that everyone is on a journey, and you檙e inviting them to be part of an amazing cause.�
The Boss Speaks to 51动漫 Incoming Freshmen
Rock music icon Bruce Springsteen addressed the Class of 2024 on September 10 at the University First-Year Academic Convocation, held virtually this year due to COVID-19 protocols. The legendary singer-songwriter encouraged students to embrace the intellectual challenges and transformative opportunities that four years at 51动漫 affords, and to be 渆motionally generous� in their relationships with others. He also shared his perspective on the nature of creativity, spirituality, and active engagement in American democracy. The Class of 2024 read Springsteen candid memoir, Born to Run, and were able to ask questions of the author in a live Q&A at the conclusion of his talk. Springsteen son, Evan, graduated from Boston College in 2012. Read more about the musician first appearance on the Heights:
Scott Harrison, founder of Charity: Water
Several students asked about finding a mentor. Harrison advice was not to force it. 淭hat relationship has to happen organically.� And when you do have a block of time with a potential mentor, don檛 ask them to rehash their origin story; ask a question they haven檛 addressed in any of their publicly available speeches or interviews.
When another student asked how Harrison had been able to turn around his life so dramatically, the social entrepreneur cited his churchgoing upbringing. At some point, he decided the club scene lacked a moral center. The faith he rediscovered is what drives him today. 淚檝e felt a calling. This is what I檓 supposed to be doing, and if I stick at it long enough, then good things will continue to happen for others.�
擟arroll School News
Photo of Scott Harrison via Charity: Water