On a whim last June, I contacted Senator Lugar’s office in Washington to let them know that I would be working in the area over the summer and that, as a native Hoosier, I would appreciate the chance to meet Sen. Lugar in person.
Much to my surprise, I received a prompt response from Sen. Lugar’s office. We were able to set up a 45-minute meeting in late July. We covered a lot of ground in that time (Sen. Lugar had some great stories about his time in uniform, as a Rhodes Scholar, and on his Indiana farm).
The following was my thank you letter to the Senator:
Dear Senator Lugar,
I would like to extend to you a belated ”thank you” for meeting with me this past July 30th. Our 45-minute discussion was one of the highlights of my summer in Washington. In particular, I value your advice on (1) what role students can play in public service today, and (2) how young adults today should shoulder both more risk and more responsibility.
I also appreciate the interest that you took in my work with Engineers Without Borders at Princeton University. I believe that my experiences in Ghana through Engineers Without Borders have made me a more-aware and a more-responsible global citizen.
Lastly, at Princeton this semester I am taking a course on the federal budget with Professor Joshua Bolten. I wanted to let you know that Prof. Bolten speaks highly of your service in the US Senate. For example, Prof. Bolten expressed admiration for your vigorous efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation.
Thank you again.
I recently received a reply back from Sen. Lugar’s office. [You'll note that the letter was "not paid for at government expense."] So let me just thank Sen. Lugar once again for his service to Indiana, his great constituent services, and his voice of moderation in these highly polarized times.
