The Closest I'll Get to Barak Obama

This might be the closest I'll ever get to Barak Obama.

In July I interviewed a man named Bud Philbrook who works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. My finished article about him was finally published a couple weeks ago in Hamline Magazine, the alumni magazine for Hamline University.

Philbrook earned his law degree from Hamline and is currently serving the Obama Administration as the deputy under secretary for farm and foreign agricultural services.

His title is a mouthful which means, in his own words, that his job is "to promote United States agricultural exports and to help fight world hunger."

Philbrook was nominated for his position because he has a wealth of experience dealing with global cultures and developing nations. Twenty-five years ago, he and his wife founded an organization called Global Volunteers.

While it's currently a popular choice for travelers to spend their vacations volunteering, Global Volunteers was at the forefront of this trend.

During our interview, Philbrook spent a lot of time talking about the injustice of malnutrition when it comes to children. Children who are not properly nourished, no matter where they live, don't usually do well in school.

In my opinion, one of the most striking things he said in the course of our interview was this:

"Children who don't do well in school don't grow up to be Mozart, Mandela or Confucius because their brains aren't fully developed. They can't recognize their God-given potential and because of that they can't help improve the human condition."

If you'd like to read the whole article, you can see it here:

Mr. Philbrook Goes to Washington

Photo from Hamline Magazine.