NATO

We enjoyed a terrific dinner with several officials of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Adrian Kendry, a gentle, colorful British man who has worked at the Naval Academy in the United States and several other American institutions in the past and who now works for NATO, addressed our group and spoke about the importance of maintaining an international perspective in the shadow of a politically volatile and changing world. Kendry and his colleagues spoke about the challenges of NATO today and the general direction NATO is heading in the future.

I learned three major things from the luncheon. Firstly, I learned that an internship and a position at NATO is extremely difficult to obtain, and most of my ambition to work there before the age of 40 died. (Side note – I thought the guy who talked about internships was quite strange. His words and comments motivated me not to apply for a NATO internship.) Secondly, I learned that NATO was planning to declare its purpose to the world, which was something that I did not know previously. Before the Soviet Union collapsed, NATO’s purpose was to provide a safety net for Europe. In a post-communist world, the world questions the necessity of NATO. Thirdly, I learned that Mr. Kendry has a fantastic singing voice.

Overall, I was thoroughly impressed that such high level officials from an international defense organization would take the time out of their day to come to speak to a bunch of college students for a few hours during the middle of the day. I was impressed with the amount of care these men took to explain and describe what they do and what they thought was important. I was also impressed with the importance they associate with their jobs, but also with the degree to which these men value well-roundedness. Adrian loves to sing and eat at that restaurant. I love that. I hope to be able to value my work as much as these men obviously do, but to also to be able to enjoy my work as much as they do. That’s my aspiration.