A Museum of Living History

January 1, 2009 7:59 AM

The Academy of Achievement brings students face-to-face with the extraordinary leaders, thinkers and pioneers who have shaped our world. Through profiles, biographies, and interviews Achievers in The Arts, Business, Public Service, Science, and Sports teach us how the Academy's core values of passion, vision, preparation, courage, perseverance, and integrity can, and will, lead to success.

Includes a library of podcasts that are excerpts from symposium presentations from the Academy's international summits.

Biographies from the Academy of Achievement have been linked on MetaFilter previously (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), but the full site has not been featured.

posted by netbros (6 comments total)

They don't have Earl, who once drank two six packs and subsequently bowled a 300 in front of everyone.
posted by Wolfdog at 8:05 AM on January 1

Several friends of mine have been on this junket. While they all enjoyed the chance to see these notables speak and talk to them, they thought the whole thing was a little bit strange, and that some of it might be an excuse for the donors to get access to these figures as well as the students.
posted by grouse at 9:11 AM on January 1

I love the story of Edward Teller essentially becoming a protege of Werner Heisenberg, because Teller was the only good competition for Heisenberg's mad skillz at ping pong.

Ping pong and the uncertainty principle... kind of figures, really.
posted by markkraft at 9:35 AM on January 1

I've been to this!
posted by escabeche at 7:17 PM on January 1

I would be interested seeing your thoughts firsthand, escabeche.
posted by grouse at 8:03 PM on January 1

It was in 1984, in Minneapolis -- I was 13 and one of the students invited to attend the event, I think because I had high SAT scores. Each student was sponsored by a wealthy donor who paid for our travel and lodging; mine was Ivan Boesky, who was just a not-very-famous rich guy at the time but who became much more famous a couple of years later when he went to jail for insider training. I had to stand up at a podium and thank Boesky and the Academy. First time I ever wore a tuxedo. The honorees were a strange mix of notables from sports, popular culture, science, arts, and politics. The medium-famous people were around for the whole weekend, the most famous people just showed up for the closing banquet. There must have been inspirational lectures and such, but I remember none of it.

I was excited about seeing Jimmy Carter and (being a huge Orioles fan) Brooks Robinson -- I think the only other person whose work I was familiar with was Ed Asner. Carter and Robinson were just there for the banquet. I shook hands with Carter, exchanged a word with Robinson, but was fairly awkward and shy because despite my love for the Orioles I didn't actually know anything about him -- he retired years before I started watching baseball. The photo of me shaking hands with Carter hung above my parents' mantel for many years.

OK, since I happen to be visiting my parents as I write this, I have gone into the closet and dug out my award from this. It's a plate in a frame with my name on it, and underneath the plate there's a plaque reading

"THE GOLDEN EAGLE AWARD"
PRESENTED TO AMERICA'S YOUNG CAPTAINS OF ACHIEVEMENT --- LEADERS IN THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE -- NATIONAL CHAMPIONS OF YOUTH PROGRAMS.

So now you know.
posted by escabeche at 10:20 PM on January 1 [1 favorite has favorites]