by Andrew Cutillo ’13
How John F. Kennedy decided to run for president provides an inspiring tale for today’s Millennials. As a young freshman Senator, he was expected to keep his head down and simply observe for his first years in office. But one day he supposedly entered that body’s chamber, looked around at the political giants of the day, and asked himself, “Why not me?” Years earlier than the establishment would bless his candidacy, JFK took the reins straight from a senate seat, and in doing so spurred a nation of young guns to leadership in their own communities.
My path to the White House also began with this question. I was tired of viewing the world as an inevitable flow of incomprehensible forces, and wanted to see for myself how the country’s top decision-makers operated. Who were these leaders anyway? Were they any different from me? The White House Internship seemed the perfect place to ask these questions.
The best answers came from a surprising source. As I got to know my cohort of over a hundred other interns, I was blown away by their stories. They led their student governments, taught English abroad, worked on campaigns, and poured their souls into every admirable endeavor in between. Hailing from every corner of the country, they all jumped at the chance to serve their national community as they had served back home. They worked with unbridled energy, unflinchingly confident in their aims and their abilities. They saw problems and got to solving them. Simply put, they all had asked, “why not me?” and had realized there was no good answer.
For me, this is a defining characteristic of community leadership. While there are trade-offs between grey-haired experience and youthful energy, the latter certainly has its time and place– which is “now” and “here” more often than we think. Everyone has something to offer. As my friends at the White House have proved to me, it only takes one person to shake off complacency and rattle his or her community awake. If reading this makes you think of something in the world that just doesn’t seem right –an issue that someone really should address– then start by asking yourself one simple question: “Why not me?”