In a lovely twist of fate, Wooj Byun recently bumped into the people who were responsible for giving him a $23,800 Ambassadorial Scholarship two decades ago…he bumped into them at a Rotary event, as Rotary Club of Edina president! They had dinner. They reminisced. They talked about the path that had altered the course of young Wooj’s life. And, all grown up, Wooj thanked them for a scholarship that led him on a journey from Pusan, South Korea to study law at the University of Minnesota.
Now that set me to thinking about the man who set me on the path to becoming a writer. Jon Fagerson was a Humanities Professor and I, well, was a 39-year-old mom who had recently returned to school, longing for a sign on which life path to take. The Tempest was our first assignment and Jon Fagerson, all white-haired and bespectacled, read it out loud as if his life depended on it; it was pure magic! We read poetry, wrote papers, studied words—and a light bulb went off in my head: Words were everything.
Thank you, Jon Fagerson.
So, I ask you: Who set you on your path?
Check out our January issue or visit edinamag.com starting January 1 to learn more about all the lives that have been changed thanks to the Rotary Club of Edina.
