

Dennis Ritchie, High School Guidance Counselor - codypo
http://www.codypowell.com/taods/2011/10/dennis-ritchie-high-school-guidance-counselor.html

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gsivil
Another data point of an accomplished man being down to earth. I almost find
this just a step beyond the call of duty.

Scenario: Imagine that you are looking for a job to the next hot small start-
up. Send an email pretending that you are a high school student looking for a
word of guidance. See if they will have the time to respond the same way dmr
did. Judge

~~~
TruthElixirX
Start ups may not have a lot of time to respond to that sort of thing. When
you are living off Ramen and praying that you don't lose money this year, you
tend to be pretty busy.

~~~
ohashi
I think you can still find a couple minutes to respond to someone reaching out
for help once in a while. It doesn't mean it's your responsibility to shoulder
all the burden of helping everyone asking, but it is worth doing it sometimes
because even if you don't realize it, other people did it for you, many times.

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wuster
I am mentoring a cousin and younger brothers of some of my friends who want to
study CS or consider a career in this field. If they ask questions about how
to prepare for a CS major, or eventually getting a job at companies, I tell
them what I wish I had known when I was 17. I didn't have such a person to
turn to when I was college age and was wondering whether this was the right
career for me, given there are so many interesting options.

It only takes a few tens of minutes of my time to reply to their emails, but
the type of mentorship, upbringing, or just sheer luck you had while growing
up may not be available to someone else. Sometimes, it just takes a few words
to help set their course.

While I am nowhere as accomplished as dmr, it's empowering to know that
someone ten years younger would still love to be in my position, and that a
few kind words can give them the encouragement to keep going.

