Opinions

‘Geeks on a mission’ take best of America abroad

The jet engines' pitch dropped as they slowed for the plane's descent. Soon we were on final approach to Majuro atoll in the Marshall Islands, where a small diplomatic delegation was waiting for me.

Members of the delegation were recognizable as foreigners, but they didn't look much like diplomats. Dressed in T-shirts and shorts, they might have been young, budget-minded tourists — or maybe American kids just hanging out.

But they were, in fact, quiet diplomats – and well-disguised ones at that. With America's international reputation in free fall, we need emissaries like them. They work to make new friends for America, counteracting the daily drumbeat of negative news coming from Washington, D.C.

Well, to be honest, the "diplomats" were really four of my students. They had volunteered to spend the summer applying their computer skills to help the people of the Marshall Islands, a small nation visible on a map of the Pacific only as a few dots halfway between Hawaii and Australia.

These young people weren't Alaskans, but they might have been because this opportunity is available to all.

They might have been working in Latin America, Africa or South Asia. Each summer students from our university and others fan out across the globe to work on technology projects in developing nations.

At Carnegie Mellon, some professors call them participants in our Technology Consulting in the Global Community program. I call them "geeks on a mission."

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[There's real danger in diminishing diplomacy and aid]

Carnegie Mellon is well known for its technology prowess, and each summer we offer students a chance to use their newly acquired skills to help people in host nations around the world. The students work as professional consultants to client organizations, often nongovernmental organizations or government agencies.

The clients get top-notch professional assistance, and the volunteer consultants get an experience not available in any classroom. Everyone wins.

Some readers may believe that smart young techies are self-centered and greedy — that their only goal is to make lots of money. But these students are not like that. They use their skills to help others. They help people who have neither the knowledge nor the financial resources to use technology to enhance their own lives.

As they quietly go about their work with nonprofits and government agencies, they're making friends and showing them the true America is not the one shown on television. Not the America of immigration bans. Not the America of religious intolerance. And not the America of greed.

It sounds a bit like the Peace Corps, and the spirit of the Peace Corps is alive in these students. Their work, though, is laser-focused. They work on specific projects aimed at meeting the goals of their clients and the people they serve.

At summer's end, when consulting projects are complete, clients are thrilled with the results. And the students are happy, too.

They've had the benefit of living and working in a foreign country, immersed in its language and culture. And they've done important work. Very important work.

Some say, "this was the best part of my university education." Others say it was a life-changing experience that changed the direction of their careers and even their lives.

When asked if her work made a difference to the people she helped, one returning student said, "It made more of an impact on my life … It helped me believe that I could do something big."

But their biggest impact is the impression they leave behind. Folks in developing nations learn that the essence of the United States is not the rhetoric of its politicians but rather the generosity of its people and what's in their hearts. Young people whose only agenda is to help others — and have a little fun along the way — may be the purest measure of America's essence.

We need more of these quiet diplomats. They may be our best hope for world peace.

Dr. Alex Hills is distinguished service professor at Carnegie Mellon University and affiliate distinguished professor at UAA. His latest book is "Finding Alaska's Villages: And Connecting Them." He lives in Palmer.

The views expressed here are the writer's and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary@alaskadispatch.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@alaskadispatch.com. 

Alex Hills

Dr. Alex Hills, who lives in Palmer, is a 44-year Alaskan. Alaska’s 2007 Engineer of the Year, he has done science and technology work across the United States and in many nations around the world.

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