New Article: Young People, You Can Do Well and Do Good

Posted by The Philadelphia Citizen on October 28, 2025

Jesse Van Doren, a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, wrote a provocative opinion piece in the September 29 issue of The Daily Pennsylvanian, arguing that Penn students are less likely than their prestigious university peers to pursue lives that combine financial success with meaningful lives.

He writes, “Any way you cut it, Penn graduates have steered clear of lives defined by continued learning, the creation of knowledge, and service to humanity.” He cites lower percentages of Penn students awarded public service oriented Rhodes scholarships, lower percentages pursuing advanced degrees, and fewer Nobel Prizes. Although Van Doren admits that these days we may not immediately associate the U.S. Congress with public service, he identifies only two members with Penn undergraduate degrees, compared to 12 from Georgetown, 14 from Stanford, and 17 from Harvard.

Elaine Maimon, Ph.D., author of Leading Academic Change: Vision, Strategy, Transformation, is not entirely convinced by Van Doren’s singling out of Penn. She says that he reflects his own personal experience in feeling insufficient encouragement for his own search for meaning and then assumes the grass is greener on other university quads.

But the problem may be more widespread than he indicates. Elaine is concerned that many young people today are insufficiently encouraged to plan for a meaningful future. College should be a time for thinking through personal values and then finding a pathway that fulfills those values. (Yes, she is one of those who thinks that college is for everyone, including those talented in working with their hands and interested in technical fields.)

Read more.