A Conversation With Jim Veny, T'75
ND: Jim, where do you live now?
JV: I have been living in San Jose, California for the past 20 years. I have
found that this place suits me fine.
ND: I think you said you are retired, is that right?
JV: Yes! I worked for FMC for 23 years and retired in 1998. That means I
was able to leave FMC with some money in my pocket and an annuity for the rest
of my life. I am not rich, but I am semi-retired and I am enjoying it.
ND: What do you do on the "work” side of semi-retirement?
JV: I started my own business in 1998, mainly to control my own work
schedule. I have a few clients including Applied Materials, United
Defense—FMC’s old defense business, and the 100 Black Men of Silicon Valley. I
also have done work for two Internet startup companies. My focus has been on
helping individuals who have not been able to take advantage of the educational
opportunities that have been offered to them.
ND: It sounds like you have a busy "retirement.”
JV: Yes, I do keep busy--working, traveling, learning how to sing,
doing other musical things, entertaining my friends, and working with community
groups. Most of all, however, I am
mainly working on me as I try to have some peace of mind in my senior years.
ND: What now
gives you “peace of mind?”
JV: I have peace of mind doing those things
that I want to do rather than doing what I believe others would have me do. The
latter was my state of mind when I joined the corporate world in 1975. Back
then I worked untold hours devoting myself to the task of following the money.
I feel I paid my dues. And now the return for that experience is that I know
enough about myself, and earned enough money, to be able to do what I want to
do today.
ND: Any regrets?
JV: I feel I gave up a lot to satisfy what
others (my bosses) wanted me to do. The corporate world demanded a lot of my
time. I had no real personal life, especially since I moved all the way across
country away from my family, friends and community. I regret that I never had a
family or found a soul mate to share my life.
ND: I understand
that you now work with young people. Can you tell us
a little about that?
JV: I do volunteer work
that takes me in the classroom every week to try and make the following points:
·
Acquiring an
education is one of the keys to a comfortable life.
·
Learning
requires work, but work can be fun.
·
Knowledge is a
thing that once gained cannot be taken away.
·
With freedom
comes opportunity. Opportunity demands responsibility; and responsibility
requires risk taking.
ND: Is this
activity in conjunction with an organization?
JV: Yes, in November 2000 I accepted the
position of Executive Director of the African American Community Service Agency
(AACSA) in San Jose. This agency focuses on the needs of the African American
community in Silicon Valley. The Executive Director’s position gives me the
opportunity to try to bridge the gap between the High Tech industry and the
minority community. In fact, the position allows me to continue the work I
began at Tuck with the Minority Executive Program!
ND: What else comes to mind when you think about Tuck?
JV: The surroundings of course were beautiful. But I also think about the
experiences I had and the people I met. There were times when I wondered what
my experience at Tuck had given me. It is only now, with time to stop and
reflect on my life, that I understand the role that the school played.
ND: What role is that?
JV: For me the Tuck experience created a standard-for-excellence. The
academic challenge was real and the discussions were stimulating. The
experience demanded that I bring to the table the best that I had, and in some
cases even what I thought I didn’t have.
ND: So the Tuck
experience raised your standards?
JV: Yes, and it also gave me the opportunity to
learn how to implement my dreams. Dreaming was easy, but I learned that
actualizing a dream required that I work as hard as I could. This meant that I
had to take a risk and push myself far beyond what I thought I could do. This
is one of my main points when I’m teaching in the classroom.
ND: What else
did Tuck do for you?
JV: In retrospect, being with the people at
Tuck taught me that personal responsibility was the key to success—this is
another one of my classroom points. It was wonderful being surrounded by so
many personally-responsible people who had both the self-confidence and the
willingness to put themselves on the line for the rigors of the system.
ND: Why did you become a TAG Centennial donor?
JV: The donation was just my small way of making the Tuck experience
available to others--just like my “Robert and Ethel Veny Scholarship Endowment
Fund” is my effort to give other African American students the same chance I
had.
ND: Any final comments?
JV: Like many of my classmates who I talked to at the 25th class
reunion, I feel life has been good to me. I am thankful that I have a wonderful
set of friends. I am thankful that I have found a useful place in a vibrant,
progressive and wonderful community called Silicon Valley. And I am thankful
that I can do the things that I enjoy, especially actualizing my dream of
improving the lives of others.
1/17/01
JV’s email: JEVeny@aol.com
ND’s email: nils.dailey@alum.dartmouth.org
T'75 home page: http://happy.dartmouth.org/classes/tuck75/