Danielle Longueville
This past Monday, Dentonites young and old made their way down the microchip road to see the great and powerful Woz. Over three thousand students, faculty, and community members filled the UNT Coliseum to hear the Silicon Valley icon (and long time philanthropist) share his thoughts on education, the future of technology, and his personal aspirations in a program put together by the UNT Division of Student Affairs and Distinguished Lecture Series.
Deborah Hoddick, Steve Wozniak and UNT President Neil Smatresk
The evening kicked off in the most logical way when each audience member was asked to raise their Apple or smart phone high in the air for all to see. Within moments, thousands of hands shot into the air accompanied by a bout of applause and cheers. It was plain to see that this man had some serious fans here.
For an hour that felt like minutes, UNT Student Adam Hasley facilitated a Q&A session featuring a series of tweets provided by audience members who used the hashtag #untwoz to ask their greatest – and often silliest – questions. They talked of the importance of integrating technology into education from a young age, the taboo topic of net neutrality and the developmental stages of Apple and its impact on his life as a whole. He shared many wonderful quotes that were both sincere and heart warming. He adamantly expressed his belief in “sticking up for the little guy” in regards to net neutrality, that “wealth is choice,” choosing to protect those who need it the most will create the most wealth in one’s life both in and out of the business world. His passion for education shined through as he shared his steadfast aspiration from a young age to be a fifth grade teacher. He “knew what he wanted to be from that very moment, and decided that that was the person [he] wanted to be for the rest of his life,” a discovery rarely found at such a young or even old age.
Overall, Wozniak left us with an invigorating sense of motivation to go out and pursue our dreams just as this great man has done. For him, and now for us, all we really need is to believe in ourselves. We believe in you, Woz, thank you for believing in us.