Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and co-founder and CEO of Square, spent the morning with engineering and business students before participating in the opening session of the Clinton Global Initiative University this evening at Wash U.

Dorsey grew up in St. Louis and shared some special memories of his hometown, childhood and what inspires him in a presentation that waxed poetic about art and revolution and wove philosophical thoughts on meaning with practical advice to future entrepreneurs.

“Growing up, I never wanted to be an entrepreneur,” said Dorsey at the outset of his talk in Simon Hall’s May Auditorium.

He wanted to be a sailor and explore the world.

Then he wanted to be a tailor – he loved watching people who take pride and care in their work.

Then he wanted to be a surrealist painter.

He showed this photogram by Man Ray.

Jack Dorsey spoke eloquently about how artists see the world in a different way and, in turn, show the world different perspectives.

He said he read a lot of Sci Fi when he was a kid and shared a quote from one of his favorite authors, William Gibson:

“The Future has already arrived. 

It’s just not evenly distributed yet.”

“Remember this quote,” Dorsey advised the audience. “Your job is to create and distribute the future evenly.”

Come back to the blog, to watch video excerpts from an interview with Jack Dorsey that was recorded immediately after his Simon Hall talk with Kasey Joyce, MBA’14 and student videographers Emma Kane (Arts & Sciences ’15), and Marc Niemeyer (Arts & Sciences ’14). All pictured above in the makeshift studio outside May Auditorium.

The Clinton Global Initiative University officially arrives on campus Friday, April 5.  Welcome banners are posted all over campus and WUSTL facilities workers were attaching these stickers on the sidewalks today pointing the way to the Athletic Complex where 1,200 students from around the world will gather to discuss how to make a difference in CGI U’s five focus areas: education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation, and public health.

President Bill Clinton will open the conference on Friday night. See the entire agenda and where you can view the events on campus via live streaming on the CGI U site. 

While CGI U sessions are not open to the public, everyone has the opportunity to engage in a number of ways. You can:

•Watch sessions live at cgiu.org,

•Follow us on Tumblr to get the the WUSTL Eye View of CGI U,

•Share your thoughts by using #CGIU on Twitter and Tumblr, and

•Participate in WUSTL sustainability efforts.

Campus Viewing Parties

Everyone is welcome to attend a live feed of the CGI U sessions featuring President Bill Clinton and TV personality Stephen Colbert in Tisch Commons on the DUC movie screen. Additional sessions will be presented in the DUC Fun Room.

April 5, 6:30 p.m.  Opening Session by President Bill Clinton

April 6, 3:30 p.m.  Closing Remarks by Stephen Colbert

“I’m excited to be involved in CGIU to meet student-leaders from around the country and around the world, and to hear about their ideas and projects,” says Amanda Yuen, MBA’13. Her “Comittment to Action” project to launch a middle school Science Bowl in Missouri is one of four Olin student projects selected to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative at Wash U April 5-7.

Amanda hails from Oklahoma where she earned her undergrad degree at the University of Oklahoma in special education and social sciences. She worked as a special ed teacher before coming to Olin’s MBA program.

“My initial reason  to get an MBA was I wanted to make a larger impact in education. I wanted to create a community center and connect that to special education teachers, and create a camp for kids with disabilities, and create this whole community of support to connect kids in urban areas with kids with differences,” says Amanda.

Science Bowl is a fast-paced buzzer competition that focuses on a variety of science subjects, including Life Science, Physical Science, Earth and Space Science, Energy, Mathematics , and General Science.

While tutoring and volunteering in St. Louis during her first year of business school, Amanda realized that Missouri did not have a Science Bowl competition for middle schoolers. She loves to share her enthusiasm for science and get students excited about science-related careers and set out to organize the Missouri Science Bowl (MOSciBo)for middle school students.

The first regional competition was held in March at the St. Louis Science Center and the winning team will represent Missouri at the national competition this month in Washington D.C.

Amanda is comitted to staying involved in the MOSciBo after graduation. She will be moving to Memphis, TN where she has landed what she calls “a perfect position” to combine her teaching and new business skills. She will be Director of Operations for the Achievement School District that was created by the Tenessee department of education to focus on the bottom 5% of schools in terms of achievement and raise them to the top 25%.

In addition to her new job, Amanda says she wants to launch another regional science bowl for western Tennessee and spread the enthusiasm she has created here with the MOSciBo. Watch video about MOSciBo on CGIU site.

Good luck Amanda! We’ll be following you on Twitter during the CGIU and beyond!    #MOSCIBO

Want to spend the night with former President Bill Clinton and a panel of new and veteran entrepreneurs April 5?  It’s the star-studded Opening Plenary session of the Clinton Global Initiative University’s 2013 meeting on the Danforth Campus, but you’ve got to play to win a ticket.

Enter the CGIU ticket lottery on WebSTAC.

CGI U will be offering student tickets to the Friday night session, which will take place from 6:30 – 8 p.m. on April 5.

The tickets, available only to currently enrolled students on both the Danforth and Medical campuses, will be distributed through an online lottery.

Interested students can enter the lottery through WebSTAC beginning March 6. The lottery will close Monday, April 1 at 12:00 p.m. Lottery participants will be notified of their status by April 2.

The Opening Plenary session, moderated by President Clinton, will feature the following speakers:

• Jack Dorsey, Co-founder and CEO, Square, Inc.; Co-founder and Executive Chairman Twitter, Inc.
• William Kamkwamba, Inventor and Writer, “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope”
• Salman Khan, Founder and Executive Director, Khan Academy
• Zainab Salbi, Writer and Producer, Nida’a AlNissa Productions; Founder, Women for Women International

Photo Credit: Adam Schultz / Clinton Global Initiative
Pres. Bill Clinton and Jon Stewart at the 2012 CGIU, George Washington University