One high school reporter took a leap of faith—and it may just made his future journalistic career.
Defense Secretary James Mattis gave an extensive interview to a high school newspaper in Washington State. A rare moment from one of Washington’s more reclusive figures, the secretary weighed in on a range of topics, from the ISIS threat to his opinion of former President Obama and the partisan divide in America.
After the Washington Post accidentally leaked Mattis’ phone number, Mercer Island High School student Teddy Fischer took the initiative to call it, CBS News reports.
When the Defense Secretary didn’t pick up, Fischer sent Mattis a text message asking for an interview with his school newspaper, the Islander. The retired four-star general returned Fischer’s call later and agreed to a 45-minute interview.
Mattis doesn’t speak with the media often, so Fischer was understandably surprised when he, of all people, earned time with the man in charge of the Pentagon. “Out of thousands of calls, why did you respond to this one?” Fisher asked.
“You left a message there and I was going through listening to the messages and deleting them. But you’re from Washington State. I grew up in Washington State on the other side of the mountains there on the Columbia River. I just thought I’d give you a call,” Mattis said to the Islander reporter.
“I’ve always tried to help students because I think we owe it to you young folks to pass on what we learned going down the road so that you can make your own mistakes, not the same ones we made.”
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