Interview With Mike Lenau '08 What was your most memorable moment at CFS? The Maroon and Grey day stood out for me. It was always a big outdoor day where you competed. There was a pie contest, races and foot races. It was always a fun time because we didn’t have to go to classes and we were outside in the summer just playing in the pool. We had such a good time being with friends. That’s what I remember and I loved it.
What values from Church Farm are still with you today? I would say a sense of community and working with others, and I don’t think I realized it. We were at CFS, and we were living within a group of 12 to 16 people, and that’s not what a lot of people do. Every day you’re kind of learning how to interact and work as a group because you cannot make selfish decisions when you’re sharing a space with someone. I felt that gave me a huge headstart when I went to college and when we had to do group work. Then later when I went into the workplace where I had to function on a team of 10 engineers who all worked together. I had always felt I was ahead of the curve as far as working with a group of people and creating a bond, getting along and essentially living together. We live together in a real sense at CFS, but you have to live together on a team, project, or group in a figurative sense. I thought that CFS gave me a leg up and made me figure it out, which made me adapt quicker than my peers.
If you could tell your younger self anything about the opportunities in CFS, what would it be? General advice, really enjoy the time you have with friends. The best part about CFS is it brings people from all over together. But one of the negatives is that after CFS, everyone spreads out again. You can go years without seeing some of your friends. One of my best friends was my roommate, and he went back to Korea after he graduated from college. I’ve only seen him three times in the past 10 years, and it was a huge bummer. So enjoy the time you have with your buds while also trying to balance out trying to get the best education at CFS.
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