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Devon's avatar

By far, the thing that most helped me develop my character was over a decade of theater arts. I find that many STEM-oriented people have an elitist attitude and look down at the arts, but the depth of the self-reflection and collaboration experienced in theater simply cannot be experienced in STEM subjects. My STEM classes teach me the subject, my theater experiences teach me how to be a person—in that way, they are incomparable.

The next best thing was being inspired by the mentor figures in my life. Personally, much of who I am today has been shaped by watching what older/more experienced people have done, which has shaped my life in both positive and negative ways. I think it's great that you want to be more vulnerable with your students. Vulnerability, to me, is one of the biggest signs of strength.

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Jim Au's avatar

About to leave on a trip, so (a) I waited too long to respond, (b) what I have to say in part is a follow-on to Jacob Clarke's reply. The FOURTH C, if I may, would be Compassion. Professor Josh is much guided in his thinking, as am I, by his biblical Christian faith, and so I would expect him to give a thumbs-up to this C since it is a primary characteristic of the main character, the leader, of his faith... "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them" (Mt. 9:36). In the context of the 737 MAX debacle, it makes sense if you look at where Boeing's leadership had misplaced their compassion. The equivalent energy that should have stirred up "Compassion" for the safety of millions of future passengers-to-be was squandered rather on Passion for money--greed. I heard this idea a few weeks ago watching the YouTube channel Mentour Now and this airline pilot's expose on Boeing's demise, rooted directly in its change of leadership (ownership) not so long ago. In light of a holistic Mudd education (at least, that's what I think I received), I think that Compassion would readily be held in esteem as a desired characteristic that we want future engineers and scientists to possess as they wield their craft in a world of practical need.

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