Last week, Hewitt students in grades 7-12 got the chance to hear from Senator Amy Klobuchar, someone that Ms. Lonergan described as a, “passionate woman, a champion of innovation.” However, those words do not do her justice.
Senator Klobuchar stands out, in my opinion, as the most memorable speaker we have had at Hewitt in the past two years–not because of her credentials, but because of the passion that radiated when she spoke; yes, her joking helped as well. As opposed to some past speakers, Senator Klobuchar was able to find a perfect way to address her audience. She recognized that we are all between the ages of 12 and 18, so she understood perfectly that she did not need to speak to us like babies, and at the same time, she also understood our political knowledge is nowhere near hers.
Ms. Klobuchar began her speech by talking about her 16-year old daughter, her first two jobs – an A&W carhop and a pie shop attendant, how she lost her first job – she spilled 12 iced teas on a customer, and her geeky 18-year old self who brought her prom dress to Yale, just in case (“needless to say, I never used it”). This very relatable introduction immediately grabbed every student’s attention.
Senator Klobuchar was born and raised in Minnesota, the daughter of a reporter and a teacher and the granddaughter of a miner who did not finish high school. She graduated with a political science degree from Yale and a passion for both politics and law. She began to get involved with city council, and later on, state representative campaigns in order to gain more knowledge about politics and how it truly works (which, by the way, is how she suggests budding politicians should begin their careers).
When Ms. Klobuchar spoke of the low percentage of female senators (only 17 out of 100), she made sure to point out that while the number is 34% lower than it should be, the mere fact that there are even a few women on the senate should be celebrated. The senator also believes that this number will continue to grow exponentially in the coming years.
Everyone in the audience agreed that not only did they learn a lot about current political controversies, but also about the great character, morals, and passion that a person must have in order to succeed as a mother, a wife to a member of the senate spouse club, a friend, and, needless to say, a senator.
When asked what she found most memorable about Senator Klobuchar, Elleni Guzman ’12 said, “I found it very memorable that she talked about her daughter and that she tried to relate to us.” Pauline Cronin ’13 agreed, adding that “the Senator really grabbed our attention and she was able to keep us interested throughout the speech.”
All in all, the student and faculty of the Hewitt School were able to take away important life lessons from Senator Klobuchar. We are all very grateful that she took time out of her busy day to come to our school!