Meeting with an Executive at General Motors

Wednesday afternoon, October 23rd. 54th St. & 6th Avenue. 

Six young men--all juniors with high grade point averages--traveled with me, their U.S. History & Government teacher, to the twentieth floor of one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Manhattan. Our destination: a private, one-on-one meeting with Mr. Jim Davlin, Vice President of Finance & Treasurer for the General Motors Company. 

Mr. Davlin is a Wabash College alumnus, as I am. We found a connection to him via Mr. Steve Klein, Dean of Admissions at Wabash College. Mr. Klein has visited with two groups of students in the past at my previous school. We decided the quarters at General Motors' New York City nerve center were a step up from meeting in our school building. 

The young men involved were enthralled by the confluence of unique events they found themselves within: first time in Midtown for most of these young men, new to the United States; first time meeting directly with a corporate executive and the dean of admissions of a college; first time in a major corporate office building. I hope the young men from HSLI were most captivated by thoughts of Wabash College. But it is possible that their favorite memory may be of the elaborately concocted pastries and counter of sodas that was at their disposal. 

Sitting with Mr. Davlin for about forty minutes,  students asked an array of questions regarding scholarships, financial aid options, sports, and activities.  Students were then able to speak directly with the dean of admissions for another forty-five minutes. The young men were offered an opportunity to visit Wabash in the fall of senior year with all expenses paid if they are in the top ten percent of their class.
 Most if not all of the students involved expressed interest in visiting Wabash at a later date. 

On our way out into the marbled corridor, Cadillac commercials played on a flat screen tv mounted on the wall. A blazing blue GM sign behind the receptionist served as a backdrop for a group photo. 
Reentering the mad rush at the end of a Manhattan workday, we headed past the Plaza Hotel along the southern rim of Central Park and back to the train station on Lexington Avenue. It was another quintessentially unique afternoon in New York City.