Friday, September 02, 2011

Note of Thanks from a Former Student . . .

Raymond Rohne
(Image from MADE)

The semester started yesterday, and when I opened the door to my office, I spied a small, square envelope on the floor. It had been slipped under my door sometime between yesterday and a week ago, when I had gone onto the Ewha campus for a meeting. I switched on the light and computers, settled into my chair, popped the plastic lid off my cappuccino, and opened the envelope. The note was from a student I'd had at Yonsei a few years back. He was one of my best students, hardworking and serious, and he took a couple of courses under me, both of them touching on Islamism.

I once asked him the reason for his interest in that topic. To my surprise, he explained that he had been a student in a New York City middle school not far from the World Trade Center and had evacuated during the attacks on September 11, 2001. When school again started, he returned to a class in which several students had lost a father or mother. If I recall, he subsequently transferred to a different school, but I don't clearly remember. I happened to see him a couple of months ago, when I wrote him a recommendation. Anyway, here's what he wrote by way of information and thanks:
Dear Professor Hodges,

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for writing my letter of recommendation. This August I completed my graduation and will attend the Chinese University of Hong Kong this September to pursue my MA in Chinese Studies. In Hong Kong I will focus on Chinese business and art, and hopefully link the two. Upon my graduation I will attempt an MBA program. Thank you again for the fond memories at Yonsei. Hope to see you in the future.

Sincerely,

Raymond Rohne
Since I didn't get to see Ray before he left, I can only now say, "You're welcome." I wish him best of luck in his business studies. He seems to be an energetic, entrepreneurial young man, already starting a business, as you see from the picture above -- or will see if you follow the link to MADE, where you can read about an investment group founded by him and a friend.

Or is it an 'artful' website project for a course in business? It remains partly under construction. Judge for yourself . . .

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2 Comments:

At 5:22 AM, Blogger ilTassista Marino said...

business and art, and hopefully link the two

Interesting. And, interesting coincidence. Right this morning I received the three publisher-to-translator copies of the book "Dio, i soldi e la coscienza" (God, money and conscience; original German title: Gott, Geld und Gewissen) by Fr. Anselm GrĂ¼n, Benedictine monk, and Jochen Zeitz, former CEO of Puma sportswear. The relationship between business and beauty - environment, art - is one of the main issues.

Unfortunately, by looking on Amazon.com, no English version of the book is available. The subject, however, has been dealt with (in English) on YouTube.

 
At 6:55 AM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

There's certainly a connection, as Apple has proven -- and Braun even earlier. As noted a few days ago, Steve Jobs and Jonathan Ive may have learned about aesthetics from Dieter Rams.

Jeffery Hodges

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