The Old Slave
My father died of a heart attack at age 46. I was 21, just as I was finishing my junior year in college. My mother had died in a car accident 10 years earlier. I was an only child, and I was now completely on my own. Not that this was so much different. After my mother's death, my father always made sure that we were financially secure, and that my education and every day needs were provided for, and while my daily activities were never of much interest to him, he did demand that I try to keep out of trouble. And to keep such things in my favor, I did my best to comply. He otherwise remained emotionally distant until he passed. I always felt that in many ways, this worked out for me. It forced me to become independent, to know who I was, and what I wanted to be and do. And over time I developed the ability to act upon it all.
Our modest house was fully paid for, and the small life insurance policy he had left would provide me with living expenses for at least some period of time. The only debts he left me with were student loans he had taken out that in large part had paid to send me to the elite college I was attending. They were substantial. And I still had another year of college to complete my degree in business. And I'd always desired and planned to go on immediately after that for my MBA.
Now those plans were in serious jeopardy, as I had no obvious way to pay for them, let alone for the three years of loans already used. The good news was that they were obtained from a special program set up by the company where my father had worked, and were interest-free, and could be paid back over an extensive period of time. This didn't solve of course, the problem any future expenses my education would incur, but I was determined to at least complete my college degree in any way that I could, even as it likely also meant forgoing, possibly forever, my quest for an MBA.
The interest-free student loan program was one of a number of very nice employee benefits developed and offered by the owner and president of the company, Roland Anderson, where my father had worked. He was the same age as my father, and in his early 20s had taken over the struggling family import-export business when his own father had died, and had, over 25 years, developed it into a thriving and hugely successful several thousand employee business, with multiple offices around the country and the world. I had met him a number of times over the years, at company picnics, and was ever astonished that he knew my name, and always asked about myself. He had attended both of my parent's funerals, and at the latter one, he seemed particularly sincere in the oft offered, 'If there is anything I can do, please let me know.'
Well, in this case, there was something I hoped he would do for me, and several weeks after the funeral I called to ask for an appointment to see him. I was gratified and pleased that it was immediately arranged.
I had practiced my presentation incessantly in my head leading up to the meeting, and steeled myself for the disappointment if my request was denied. But Roland Anderson put me at ease from the start
"I'm so glad you've come to see me, Anise. What is it that I can do for you?"
Here it went.
"Well, Mr. Anderson, I know my father, unfortunately, no longer works here, but I was wondering, and hoping, that I might still be able to avail myself of the student loan program you set up for employees and their families. My father used it to help me with my first three years of college, and I would be very thankful if I could use it for my final year to complete my degree."
"And what are you studying, Anise?"
"Business" I replied.
He smiled. "And what are your plans after you finish your degree?"
I paused, a bit in sorrow. "Well, I had intended, and hoped to go on for my MBA, but that will obviously have to be put on hold now, but maybe later in night school after I've started working."
"I see. And what do you hope to do with your degree, and then the MBA?"
I wasn't sure that I wouldn't sound ridiculous to this highly successful, and almost self-made businessman, but I didn't lack for my own confidence.
"It's always been a dream of mine to set up and grow my own business, of being in charge and responsible myself for everything in it from beginning to end. And I wanted to have the most tools and learn the most that I can to achieve all of that."
He nodded, then sat there silently and stoically as if pondering what I had said. After many long moments, during which I came to the conclusion that I really had made a fool of myself, he finally responded.
"I'm not going to grant the loan, Anise."
I had geared myself up for the disappointment, but I can't claim that my spirits didn't begin to plummet at that moment.
"Instead, my company is going to completely pay for your senior year." He then went on to continue. "On the condition that you take a part-time internship during the year with our company"
I was stunned, but he wasn't done.
"And if you perform well in the internship, and graduate with honors, we will pay for your MBA, and wipe away the first three years of your loans."
When I rediscovered my voice, all I could do was ask, "Mr. Anderson. Why?"
He looked away for a few seconds, then back to me. "Your father was more than employee. He was a friend. We started working in this company at the same time, and were growing in it together. When your mother died so tragically, your father was never the same, and then he died far too young. This may be some small way that I can do something, anything, about that. But it's also more than that. In this very short time today, I could see and sense something in you, Anise. Something different and special. And I just feel that you will prove me right. And you won't be getting anything for free. You'll be expected to work very hard here as an unpaid intern, and even harder, I suspect, to garner the honors that are required by my proposed deal." He paused again. "So, what do you say?"
What could I say. No one had ever said such things about me, or offered me anything of such value. And I knew I would not fail. I would become all I was meant to be, and I swore to myself that Roland Anderson would come to know that.
"Yes, thank you, Mr. Anderson. I will do everything that it takes."
And he was true to his word, every step of the way, as was I. Everyone agreed that my work as an intern was exemplary, and I graduated Summa Cum Laude. He attended my graduation, and I was very happy to have someone there to celebrate it with me. My previous student loans were erased, and the company funded my MBA studies, and even offered me a higher level paid internship to help with my living expenses during that time. He attended that graduation as well, and at a celebration dinner he treated me to that night, he made his pitch.