Chapter 28: Naples, 1986

Climbing out of the hole.

Naples Island, Long Beach

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My days working for Sue The Overlooker came to their inevitable end when I left for graduate school in hopes of pivoting to a more meaningful career. I thought about law school and business school, but my experience as a ski patrol emergency responder and my interest in economics and politics steered me toward public sector programs. Given how mediocre my college grades were, I was astonished when Harvard admitted me to the Kennedy School’s Public Policy program, and I did not turn that opportunity down.

Nancy was the first person I met in Cambridge. I had barely arrived when I saw her standing on the steps of our graduate student dormitory surrounded by piles of suitcases and book boxes. I offered to move them into her dorm room and was instantly taken by her infectious positivity. She was warm and generous and relentlessly optimistic. Her laugh came easy and she was fun. Everyone who met Nancy loved her, me included.