To Eric Schneider, With Gratitude
Eric C. Schneider I was nervous. Standing backstage immediately before giving the student commencement address at the University of Pennsylvania's College of Arts and Sciences graduation, I was gulping air and peering out at the thousands of people in the audience. Eric Schneider leaned in conspiratorially and said, "If it makes you feel better, in the scheme of things, you are just an infinistimal speck of dust. We all are." A few months later, Eric sent me a typed letter with a handwritten note. The letter was one recommending me for an internship. The note said, "Everyone should get at least one chance to read their eulogy while they are alive. Here's yours."