New York Times: The college degree is becoming the new high school diploma: the new minimum requirement, albeit an expensive one, for getting even the lowest-level job.

While this article hits on an important point, a college degree by no means is a guarantee to a job. In terms of cost/benefit, I think college is incredibly overvalued when students will take on thousands of dollars worth of debt, only to spend the next 5, 10, 15, or even 20 years working to pay off that lump of debt.

Thankfully I was accepted to Berea College, which offers students a full four-year scholarship upon admission; I will be able to graduate without a lick of debt related to college. All I know is that I probably would not choose to be in college if I knew it meant going into debt. Unfortunately, many individuals see college as the only option (it isn’t), and trap themselves in mounds of debt for an education that may or may not amplify their creative abilities and economic opportunities out of school.

This video from Peter Schiff demonstrates why anyone should seriously consider whether the value of a college education is at all worth thousands of dollars of debt:

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

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Timm and his work at Green Energy Park represents the very best of entrepreneurial initiative, creativity, and community building. The mission statement of Green Energy Park is to utilize “clean, renewable energy resources to facilitate economic development, provide environmental protection, and offer educational opportunities.”

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Today I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Lonnie Hendrix, Mayor of Hyden, Kentucky (a small town of 300 in Leslie County in Eastern Kentucky). I was blown away by Mr. Hendrix’s spiritual depth, dedication to service, and humility. He was very welcoming to our group of 15 students, who are participating in an entrepreneurship program, Entrepreneurship for the Public Good, through Berea College.

Mr. Hendrix takes no salary, has given more than half of his private wealth away over the years, and ran for Mayor despite death threats and going up against a very corrupt local system. After winning with approximately 70% of the vote his first time running, he received 94% of the vote in his reelection bid for Mayor.

If you are ever in Eastern Kentucky, be sure to stop by the Mayor’s Office and say hello to Mr. Hendrix. It is immensely refreshing to meet a civic leader who genuinely cares for the people he serves and is willing to make personal sacrifice to help the community that he loves. He is exactly what this world needs.

My sincere gratitude to Peter Hackbert and Entrepreneurship for the Public Good for making this visit a possibility.

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One of the Executive tickets was disqualified at the last minute for soliciting votes in student dorms. Janice and myself received 46% of the vote, while the other tickets received 32% and 22%, respectively. These results were announced at midnight on April 14 during a large Berea College social dance called “Jazzy Nights” (similar to Homecoming). We were thrilled to be announced the winners of the election.

However, due to controversy of the Campaign Code of Conduct signed by all the candidates in late March (as well as the one ticket being disqualified), a meeting with the student Senate was held to discuss the elections results. At least 50 students showed up at this meeting, easily making it the most attended student government meeting in Berea this past year. After a meeting lasting well over two hours, the Senate voted 6-5 to decline the results of the first election and hold a run-off election between Janice and myself and the ticket that didn’t get disqualified (which happened to get 22% of the vote the first time around).

This was a nerve-wracking time. Running one campaign just a couple weeks before finals is stressful enough. Running another campaign the week immediately preceding finals added to the intensity of the election process a great deal. Janice and I continued campaigning to the best of our abilities, making sure to stay true to our word, stay principled and on message, and avoid making promises that we knew we couldn’t keep.

After four days of voting for the runoff election, we learned of the results Tuesday evening. We received 300 votes, the other ticket received 186. Overwhelming emotions of relief and excitement once again overtook us. Because of the runoff  we were forced to make extensive last-minute appointments (during finals week) and finish up tasks in one or two days that we would normally have at least a week to complete. Despite these challenges, Janice and myself maintain feelings of great excitement and anticipation to officially serve the Berea student body in the 2012-13 academic year as Executive President and Vice President.

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Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Upon seeing the “Ron Paul Revolution” T-shirt I was wearing, Galbraith said, “I wrote in Ron Paul for president.”

Treat yourself to twenty minutes of this independent thinker’s thoughts on drugs, education, debt, and a variety of issues plaguing Kentucky and America as a whole. We need more Gatewood Galbraith’s.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Galbraith talking with Berea College students (Photo by Dylan Gorski)

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