The New York Times columnist Frank Bruni urged parents of the Class of 2018 to understand the nominal importance of prestigious college acceptance Nov. 14 in a discussion in Taper Gym.
Bruni spoke about his most recent book, “Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be.”
“[Bruni] was superb,” President Rick Commons said. “The way in which he delivered his message, I thought the tone was just right, and it’s hard to get that tone right.”
In his book, Bruni explains that the college one attends has little impact on his or her eventual successes.
“Where we go to college will have infinitely less bearing on our fulfillment in life than so much else: the wisdom with which we choose our romantic partners; our interactions with the communities that we inhabit; our generosity toward the families we inherit and the families that we make,” Bruni said in his book.
The discussion was organized by the upper school deans to provide additional information to parents about the application process and the impact of universities on their child’s life.
“Bruni said that we should sculpt our education about what we need most, and I found that to be really inspiring,” attendee Junga Kim (Emory ’18) said.