As high school students, it may be difficult to recognize that life is often a series of important moments, strung together by time. In other words, as Steve Jobs once stated in a commencement speech delivered at Stanford University, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward.” That’s how former Blair faculty member, Sue Altman, might describe her path to politics. On Tuesday, September 23, Ms. Altman shareed with students how her journey—from education to campaigning for her own spot within the U.S. House of Representatives to becoming the state director for a U.S. senator—has been shaped by those pivotal moments.

“I got into my field by accident. I generally dislike politicians so it’s ironic I ran for Congress,” shared Ms. Altman in a pre-event interview.

After graduating from Columbia University in 2005 with a bachelor of arts degree in history, Ms. Altman began her career, first in professional basketball, then educational activism. Immediately after graduating, Ms. Altman traveled overseas to pursue her love of basketball, playing professionally in Ireland and Germany. At the same time, Ms. Altman also enrolled in Oxford University, where she mastered not just one subject but two–business administration, earning her MBA, and science (International and Comparative Education). 

Something in her curriculum inspired her to then pursue a career in education, something she’d always wanted to do. That’s how she found herself at Blair, but Ms. Altman quickly realized that not all schools are supported the way Blair was. Wanting to change that, she moved to a city with the highest poverty rate in the state, Camden, New Jersey, where she found her love of educational activism. It was in this city that a little fire ignited for what would become her political career. 

“My advice is to find a cause you care about [like educational activism for me]. Find a group that works on that thing, and show up. That’s it. Start there,” she shared. “No one knows what they want to do when they grow up! That’s a myth! The best thing we can do for our young people is give them the tools to face whatever challenges the future may bring.”

As Ms. Altman prepared for her talk on Tuesday, she cannot help but think about the advice she’d like to leave with the students, who are eager to begin marking their own footprints in the world. Looking back at her own string of life’s moments, she recalls some great words that she stumbled upon: “You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.”

“By not getting involved you are essentially giving other people more power.”

History of Skeptics
 
The Society of Skeptics was established as a forum for students and faculty to discuss and debate important global issues; it has grown to become one of the premier high school lecture series in the United States. Each week, speakers from the political, social, scientific, economic and literary arenas share their unique perspectives with students, who are encouraged to engage with presenters, asking questions and debating points of view.
The program, which is funded in part by the Class of 1968 Society of Skeptics Endowment Fund, is an outgrowth of the Blair International Society, begun in 1937. Forty years later, former history department chair Elliott Trommald, PhD, Hon. ’65, established the modern Skeptics program as a regular forum for student discussion and debate; history teacher Martin Miller, PhD, took over in the mid-1980s and molded the program into a weekly lecture series, one that has since continued without interruption. Under the tutelage of Dr. Miller and his successor, history department chair Jason Beck, Skeptics has featured a wide variety of speakers who are thought-provoking, engaging, accomplished in their respective fields and often controversial. For a listing of upcoming Skeptics programs, please visit Blair’s website.