Another CKSAP Local has been successfully pulled off! With the gracious help of Ms. Lynne Meyers, this year our student ambassadors Sasha Schroeder and Liz Jones from A. B. Combs Leadership Elementary School were able to interview Mr. Harvey Schmitt, the President of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Marty Clayton, the Community Relations Manager of Progress Energy, and Dr. Gregory Buckner, a Professor of Engineering at N.C. State University.
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Sasha’s Thoughts:
Dr. Buckner was a fantastic scientist to interview for our CKSAP program. He showed us his lab, and a few of his students and their projects. Dr. Buckner wants to revolutionize cardio-thoracic surgery, or heart and lung surgery. He and his students are working on a catheter, which is a tool that doctors use to work on your heart without cutting open your chest. Dr. Buckner’s definition of leadership is setting an example, and using your gifts. We all have them! Dr. Buckner believes that you should try your best in all subjects. Every subject you ignore, you close a door to a potentially fantastic job. It gives you lots of options. He says to study hard!
I think Liz and I had a great time learning all about new technology and how people all over the world are trying new ways of medical science and leadership, and how people are setting such good examples for our younger generations to come.
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Mr. Clayton’s definition of leadership is that a leader has a vision and he/she shares it with others. A leader thinks about where to go with the organization. As a community relations manager, he talks to people in the community that have questions or comments about Progress Energy. Some of the “New Energy” ideas that Progress Energy has come up with are more solar power, and a new idea called the smart grid. If the power goes out, a computer automatically turns it back on instead of the workers having to go out and turn on the power. I think that this is a good idea because it is safer for the workers of Progress Energy. I think Liz and I learned a lot about Progress Energy and real-life leaders in our community.
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Mr. Harvey Schmitt is the successful president and CEO of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. His definition of leadership is someone who helps others to go in the right direction and sees the big picture. The most difficult or challenging part of his job is making sure everyone is doing the right thing at the right time because his organization is so dynamic. A typical day for him would be waking up very early, and getting to the office around 8:00 AM. He checks his emails, and goes to about 4 or 5 meetings a day. He reads the news to stay updated, and he may go to ribbon cutting ceremonies or meet with dignitaries from around the world.
He feels that when you’re working on a project, it doesn’t matter who gets the credit; it matters to get the job done.
To help schools in the community, he wants to get better funding to raise the quality of life in Raleigh.
Mr. Schmitt played a big role in bringing the Carolina Hurricanes to Raleigh. He helped convince the owner of the Hartford Whalers to relocate them to Raleigh. He realized that bringing a major league sports team to Raleigh would attract more business and money.
I think Mr. Schmitt really gave us a good look at Raleigh and the people behind all the business and money. I think that Liz and I learned a whole lot from him.
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Liz’s Thoughts:
Marty Clayton represents Progress Energy in the community, and talks to people that have questions or comments. For him a day at work is going to a lot of meetings, talking on the phone, and answering emails. His definition of leadership is someone who has a vision and wants to share it with the world, someone who thinks about where to go with the organization. They are using leadership to work on some new projects, like solar energy because it is free and renewable. They are also working on something called a smart grid. This is a computer that turns your power on when it goes out, instead of having to send men out to fix it. At the end of the day he gave us some advice on what we should be when we grow up. He told us to do something that you love. Don’t do something that you don’t enjoy, because there is a pretty good chance that you will be doing that job for the rest of your life.
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Dr. Buckner is a Professor of Engineering at N.C. State University. I got a tour of his lab and we learned a little about what his students are working on. They are trying to make a thin remote controlled wire that will go into your leg and then up to your heart. Then they will be able to touch different things in your heart. On their first attempt it didn’t work out like they planned. When they hooked the wire up to the remote it would only move side to side. They needed it to move in all directions. So they tried it again and this time it worked, and we got to try it ourselves. It was really cool! After the amazing tour we sat down in his office and asked Dr. Buckner a few questions. One thing he told us is to always, always be proactive because if you’re not proactive you are reactive. He said he has to be proactive by getting ready for a speech, writing proposals, and making sure he has good students by checking their scores. Dr. Buckner feels that one of the reasons he is successful at his job is because he uses the Covey habit of being proactive.
