Jennifer Healy Keintz is a Democrat candidate for the state legislature in District 1. Unfortunately, it seems she’s a bit of a snob when it comes to attending any of the schools she wants to be in charge of and herself attended.
Despite campaigning to be in the legislature which holds the power of the purse strings over state regental institutions such as USD, and South Dakota State University, last year Keintz was telling the New York Times that she wouldn’t recommend her child attend them, in favor of “elite institutions”:
To the Editor:
I earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from South Dakota State University in the 1990s. Immediately after graduating I moved to the East Coast, where many people I met couldn’t find South Dakota on a map and had certainly never heard of the university. I was able to find jobs with good companies in various large cities and to build a decent career. After a few years in the work force, it seemed to matter more where I had worked than where I went to college.
I was probably not called in to interview by some companies because I hadn’t attended a prestigious university, but there are plenty of great employers who look at more than alma mater. All that said, I’ve seen how attending certain schools opens many doors. It’s not a guarantee of success, but there’s no denying that graduates of top schools have a leg up.
I have a 2-year-old and I already think about where she’ll go to college. It will ultimately be her choice, but I will strongly suggest elite institutions. Despite my own positive experience and my desire for it to not matter, it absolutely does.
Jennifer Healy Keintz
Eden, S.D.
“I will strongly suggest elite institutions. Despite my own positive experience and my desire for it to not matter, it absolutely does.”
So much for wanting to be a representative of the people, with an elitist attitude like that.
I’m more concerned she is thinking about where her 2 year old will go to college. Besides making it appear she will be a helicopter parent controlling every aspect of her daughter’s life, how about putting all your effort into raising your daughter to be loving and caring instead of an “elite.” If you really intend to let it be her choice, if you raise her to be a good person, she will make good decisions without your “input.”
That is not elitist, just pragmatic. “I’ve seen how attending certain schools opens many doors. It’s not a guarantee of success, but there’s no denying that graduates of top schools have a leg up.” From personal experience, this is true. This is especially the case if you want your kids to have the flexibility of looking to work in big cities or with large companies outside the state. The network of some of the top schools is just bigger than the SD system. Doesn’t mean they can’t come back, look at Daugaard (Northwestern) or Mark Mickelson (Harvard).
I will always speak highly about my experiences at Northern State University and the quality of education it provided and describe it especially to my Minnesota neighbors some being very as the positive qualities of going to a private school but at a public school price. Northern State University provides a great foundation to pursue graduate degree there or elsewhere if desired.
I heard there is a new school starting up. Called “Snobs-R-Us” Only people who look down their noses at others can get in.
The collection of letters from people describing their college experiences is quite good. Most of the writers identify a professor or course that changed their lives. Others praise their schooling — including state schools and community colleges — for giving them the education they needed for a fuller life. Some were rejected by elite schools and did fine going to second choices. One worked hard to get accepted at an elite school to prove to friends and family she was “good enough,” then squandered her four years.
It’s fine, Ms. Keintz, to encourage your daughter to aim for the so-called elite schools. But if she’s rejected — and 97% of applicants get the dreaded “thin letter” — I hope she finds her way regardless, even if it’s a South Dakota school.
This seems like a nothingburger to me. She’s admitting an unfortunate truth that some employers view applicants differently based on where they went to school. She’s also saying she wishes it wasn’t that way and that her own experience was that you can overcome it.
I certainly don’t view her as a snob after reading the letter. She’s not arguing that the elite institution are superior, just that employers may view them that way.
I agree. Show me a successful Republican who doesn’t. Heck, even the governor understands this truth with her own kids. These attacks are baseless and foolish.
My question is, what motivated her to write this letter?
That’s a really good question
Not really.
From the article:
“We asked readers to discuss how the people they met and classes they took influenced them, and how much going to an elite school matters.”
I would bet she felt like offering up her opinion since she felt like this sort of belief about elite schooling may have limited her opportunities to advance and she wanted to share her experience.
Why write the letter in the first place? It does nothing to further her chances at winning in Dist. 1. Just makes her sound like an elitist. I’m sad to hear she graduated from my alma mater. We usually graduate some pretty common sense folks. But alas, one or two book smart but no street smart people do squeeze by.
My wife earned her Ph.D. in English from USD several years ago. She was at a symposium a few years back that featured a well-known poet. They struck up a conversation, and he asked where my wife went to school. When she told him, he shut down the conversation and quickly ignored her as though she was wasting his time. Apparently he wouldn’t talk to anyone who didn’t go to an “elite” program, even if they won several major national prizes.
My philosophy is to be cordial to those elitists, but quickly forget about them. Frankly, THEY are not worth my time.
It looks like she wrote her letter 19 months ago, as the article is from March 2019.