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Take Five

Chris Meyer (G.N.O. '04) was in his second year as a Teach For America corps member when Hurricane Katrina hit. The disaster turned out to be a catalyst. Meyer was "fed up with the failure of public leadership," he recalls. "I wanted to get hard skills to figure out how to become an effective advocate." So he made it happen. After winning a highly competitive White House Fellowship, Meyer was placed as a special assistant at the Department of Defense, where he has been able to observe the workings of wartime governance. He took a few moments from his schedule to speak with us.

By Karen B. Manahan

ONE DAY: What are you working on now?
I'm going to Parris Island to learn about basic training and how we [take soldiers] right off the bus [and turn them into] Marines. We send them [to Iraq and Afghanistan] and say "This is when you use lethal force; this is when you need softer skills like diplomacy; this is when you need to be a health care worker, a school teacher, a traffic cop." I'm fascinated by how we take an 18- or 19-year-old and give them so much responsibility. We make policy in a box in the Pentagon, and it's helpful to see how it affects training and troops in the field.

ONE DAY: What has been the most surprising moment?
It was in Afghanistan. I was having lunch with a small group in the mess hall and across the table was a female soldier that went to high school with my sister. I thought, "Wow, where am I?" Her first trip out of the country was with the Air Force to Afghanistan. She was making the ultimate commitment to public service and was going to re-enlist. It brought everything back home.

ONE DAY: What is Secretary of Defense Robert Gates like?
He's a really funny guy with a great dry sense of humor. He also understands how history continues to influence today, that you can always look further back than you can look forward.

ONE DAY: How does it feel to be working with all these public figures?
The fellowship is a gift, and you want to keep that in mind the whole time. Our director said: "You [may have] heard from a grandfather that they met President Truman and shook his hand. You just spent three hours in the Oval Office with the president." I still have moments where I just think, "This is so incredible."

ONE DAY: What are your future plans?
Louisiana needs talented people, and thankfully lots are flocking to the state, but we still need people to come back home. I'd like to be a part of that. I'm still committed to New Orleans students and education and would like to focus on that for a few years. I'd also like to volunteer to help wounded warriors find jobs to stay connected to the work I've done here.