With a calm demeanor and smooth delivery, Penn alumnus-turned-politician John Hinck urged a group of 21 students to actively seek leadership roles and become involved in legislative issues yesterday evening in Leadership Hall.
Hosted by Fox Leadership, the conference was the first in the Lessons in Leadership series aimed at teaching students theories and principles behind leadership.
Hinck, 53, works as an attorney in Portland, Maine. He is also a representative of the Maine State legislature.
Environmental advocacy was one of the main topics Hinck discussed, and he was well-versed in the field.
Prior to becoming an attorney, he spent 10 years working with environmental advocacy group Greenpeace. He recently spent three years working with the Natural Resources Council of Maine.
"Never before in the history of this planet have people wasted energy resources like Americans are doing today," Hinck said.
Still, he did not seem very eager to stop using one of his favorite toys: his hot-tub.
"I'm not suggesting that when we talk about conserving energy that we're talking about the end of fun," he said. "We just need to be a heck of a lot smarter."
Hinck covered a number of other topics during the discussion, including terrorism, epidemics, drug use, crime, health care, foreign policy, political corruption and the loss of privacy.
"I don't mind looking at what the problems are," said Hinck, who studied English and History while at Penn. "I like celebrating what we've done before, but let's move on and tackle what's next."
After the first half-hour of the speech, there was a dinner interlude that quickly turned into a question and answer session.
College sophomore Keri Wong, who is part of the Fox Leadership Program, introduced Hinck and took part in asking questions during the discussion.
Associate Director of Fox Leadership Chuck Brutsche helped to bring Hinck to campus.
"I appreciate his passionate call to leadership," Brutsche said.
"It seems like he's experienced quite a bit," College freshman said Matt Frias. "I want to learn how his experiences tie in with leadership," he said.
"I thought it was great," said College junior Miguel Garces.
