It’s springtime in Wisconsin, and for us Midwesterners, spring means there’s litter, uncovered from the melting snow, in our yards.
I walk a couple of blocks to the gym most mornings, and when I see trash lying on the ground, I pick it up. This tradition always reminds me of Jack Imholte, the chancellor of my undergraduate alma mater, the University of Minnesota at Morris. I don’t think Jack ever walked past a piece of litter without picking it up. In fact, I have clear memories of him walking across campus, with crumpled paper cup or plastic bag in hand.
When I was nineteen, Jack’s propensity for litter was just one of the many lovely and idiosyncratic highlights of going to a small school on a prairie campus. But now, now that I’m much older, I realize that he was setting an example for the rest of us, an example I think about every time I take a moment to clean up my own neighborhood.
Jack’s actions – I say “Jack,” because Morris was the sort of small school environment where you could call the chancellor Jack without offense – spoke volumes to me, both now and then. I’m sure I can’t be the only one who Jack’s propensity towards litter has stuck with over the years.
The thing that has stuck with me first and foremost, was that Jack’s actions demonstrated humility. In Jack’s view, no one was too important to do their part. Leaders have an obligation to be part of the solution they seek, to roll up their sleeves and, if necessary, to pick up the trash. It’s perhaps one of the most important lessons I learned while at Morris – that nobody is too important to do the work that needs to be done.
Jack also showed how one person really could make a difference. In my current work at Cool Choices, we reinforce the power of individual actions all the time. Big issues like climate change require millions of regular people coming together. And that starts with individuals who believe their own actions matter, who do things in a visible way that thereby inspires others.
Most of all, though, Jack taught me that doing the right thing matters, even when it feels a little awkward. Most people do not pick up trash as they walk down the street. So when I’m slowing down to pick up litter, when I’m carrying trash as I walk, I feel eyes on me. It is possible that these folks think I’m some sort of nut—or maybe that I was sentenced to community service, and I do my work at dawn.
Regardless, I tend to think about Jack and the example he set for me, and I hope that my own efforts will create an example for others. I hope that that someone else might be inspired by my efforts, and join me in being part of the solution.
2 Comments
Thank you for your story about Jack. i’am an alumni of the university of Minnesota, morris, too. (1984) Jack was a good friend of my dad’s – Fred Peterson (professor of studio art, art history and curator of the HFA art gallery). They go way back to the founding days of UMM. (1963)
While I may have been too young to witness the quite everyday ways jack demonstrated his leadership, I do believe the everyday actions of ordinary people can make a huge impact. My significant other and I routinely pick up trash where ever we walk. It’s become second nature.
Thanks for your note, Kristin! In the small world of UMM, I took an art history class from your dad (and I learned a ton…another example of how our actions have lasting impacts).