Page 170 - Leadership Lessons of the White House Fellows

CHAPTER 17

LEADERS ARE

GREAT LISTENERS

When Cesar Aristeiguieta (WHF 02–03) was only fifteen years old, he
emigrated alone from his homeland of Venezuela to the United States in
search of better opportunities. He certainly made the most of what he
found here. After graduating from high school, Aristeiguieta worked as an
emergency medical technician and volunteered for the National Ski Patrol
and the American Red Cross. He was accepted to the police academy and was
the top graduate in his class. He worked as a police officer while attending
California State University full-time. After graduation, Aristeiguieta was
accepted to the University of Southern California’s School of Medicine.
He graduated and began a residency in emergency medicine.
As he was finishing his residency, Aristeiguieta began to have doubts.
The prospect of jumping directly into a career as a doctor did not appeal
to him. He wanted to do something different—something in the realm
of public service—but did not know what it might be. Aristeiguieta shared
his confusion with a close friend. Coincidentally, she recently had
heard about the White House Fellows program. “She gave me the Web
site address, and I checked it out,” Aristeiguieta recalled. “As I started
reading through the description of the Fellowship and what they were
looking for, I realized that I had been preparing for this program all my
life.” Aristeiguieta applied and was accepted for the Fellowship. He was
assigned to work with Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary Tommy Thompson.

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