Greg Mortenson

Drew University debuted its new Common Hour forum Wednesday with a speech by noted humanitarian Greg Mortenson, who was inspired by a near-fatal mountain climbing adventure to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

All 503 first-year students were sent copies of Mortenson’s best-selling book, “Three Cups of Tea,” in June and invited to the forum.

Common Hour is a new initiative in which regular classes are suspended to promote “a common intellectual experience” for the Class of 2013, Drew’s College of Liberal Arts Dean Jonathan Levin said before the noon speech.

Mortenson, a Minnesota native who grew up in Africa with his missionary family and who now lives in Montana, explained how the book’s title originated with a proverb: “With the first cup of tea, one is a stranger; by the second cup, one is a friend; and by the third cup, one is family.”

“It means we have to build relationships. We have to get to know each other,” said Mortenson, who is in his early 50s.

“Three Cups of Tea” details Mortenson’s rescue by Pakistani villagers in 1993 following his failed attempt to climb the world’s second-highest mountain.

Upon returning to the U.S., he began raising money to help the impoverished village build a school. Later, he co-founded the Central Asia Institute and started Pennies for Peace. By 2009, his efforts had established more than 90 schools educating 34,000 children in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Mortenson persisted despite significant peril. According to his Web site, he was kidnapped for eight days by the Taliban in 1996, he escaped a 2003 battle by Afghan warlords by hiding under animal hides in a truck heading to a leather-tanning factory, and he endured numerous death threats.

Drew University President Robert Weisbuch, in introducing Mortenson, told that students that “if anybody tells you (that) you can’t make a difference all by yourself, remember this hour for the rest of you life.”

Kayla Bowers, a freshman from Newport, R.I., pursuing a theater degree, said she was impressed with Mortenson’s book.

“I thought what he was trying to do was really courageous,” she said.

Though his international humanitarianism was the speech’s theme, Mortenson tried to relate the discussion to typical college experiences. Recalling his first semester in college, Mortenson said he had a 1.89 GPA, less than a C average, and waited a week to open an envelop from the dean because he feared he was being kicked out of school. Instead, the envelop contained a letter from the dean expressing concern and inviting Mortenson to call him at home. The outreach spurred him forward and Mortenson eventually graduated with a 3.4 GPA.

Mortenson encouraged students to get out in the world, proclaiming, “You can never solve poverty from a think-tank in Washington, D.C.”

(c) Daily Record 2009

http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/20090903/COMMUNITIES/90902052/1005/NEWS01/Humanitarian+to+Drew+audience++Build+relationships