Libby Ashton, Intern Extraordinaire

You've no doubt read some of the media about summer internships this year and how difficult it has been for college students to land jobs that are both interesting and challenging, even though they are willing to work for little or no pay.

We feel fortunate that Libby Ashton, from the University of Michigan, is with us this summer.  She's smart, she's hard-working, she is unabashedly courageous about sharing her opinions.  Best of all, she knows how to have a conversation.  About important stuff.  She is both an active listener, and a contributor when she has something to say. 

I had high expectations for Libby, because she came on the recommendation of a good friend and professional colleague, former Executive Produce of Business Programming for Public Broadcasting Services Marty Katz, and her resume revealed that she'd already had a successful internship working for Governor Strickland of Ohio.  She's met those expectations.  Libby defies the usual rule of so many who make the effort to converse: she doesn't spend the majority of time-- while others are speaking-- figuring out what she'll say next.  She listens to what is being said and then determines whether a response is required and, if so, what it should be.  And she takes constructive criticism in stride and figures out how to improve her work when appropriate.

This is thrilling to me.  I've been inundated with stories from all sorts of sources of the challenges of including entitled, spoiled, smart-pants interns who don't contribute a great deal to the organization where they're spending time.  Not the case here.  We're all Libby fans and are eager to give her as much opportunity as we can to let her take on some meaningful projects and execute on them.

One of them, mentioned in her guest blog of yesterday, is the "Look Who's Talking" series.  It's her idea, and it's a great one.  Let's see what she does with it.  

Meanwhile, I'm newly positive about the conversational skill set of American young adults.  Libby is living proof that there are some amazing young people honing their skills to become future American leaders.  Let's help them as much as we can.  They'll do us proud.