In less than three minutes, we will welcome officially not only our newest, but notably, our youngest member. Yes, Mike O’Brien is precisely one-quarter the age of our oldest active member. If the three pillars of a life successfully lived are defined as - learning, earning, and serving well, then Mike is well, well on his way to just that at a tender age.Learning
Mike’s dad, a Notre Dame grad, a guitarist, and a small business man, insisted his young son play the piano 30 minutes every day. If he missed a day, then an hour the next. It was de riguer in the O’Brien household. Then, off to Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan for two weeks every summer where in Mike’s words he “fed off the talent of those more gifted than he”. He no longer relies on sheet music, just trusting his fingers to take his listeners wherever his instincts for jazz piano lead him.
If not the piano, then chess! Again, Dad had something to do with this too, and so did Scott Oki and one of his multitude of non-profit start-ups called The American Foundation for Chess. Its online program named First Move, aired for an hour once a week, designed to enhance critical and creative thinking skills. Young Mike was all-in!
As for college, it was an astute Gonzaga admissions team who identified early, Mike’s leadership potential. He earned his accounting degree from the Jepson School of Business, much influenced by a close family friend who convinced him that an early grasp of the numbers would propel him quickly in the commercial world. To that end, Mike sailed through all four CPA exam sections in his first sitting and he’s on the cusp of securing his Level III Certified Financial Analyst credential.
Earning
Gainful employment began precociously! He earned his first paycheck at 14, teaching piano lessons and arranging recitals. Later, he worked odd summer jobs, from combing for fertile leads at a local investment house to peddling shoes at Nordstrom. PricewaterhouseCoopers tried him out for a summer, and hired him back the next, full time, degree in hand...and where he now finds himself quickly elevated to Senior Associate, and getting his head around the best practices (such as they are) of valuing hedge fund and alternative investments.
It’s an old and true maxim that “if you do what you love, you’ll never work another day in our life.” And, so with Mike. He describes himself as a structured, numeric thinker. Chess is about processing tactical patterns, improvisational piano playing is about applying practiced chord progressions, and accounting similarly is about linking standard procedures to communicate financial events. He’s in heaven with it all!
Serving
Well, the fruit never falls far from the tree. Dad was a 26-year regular at the Bellevue Breakfast Rotary Club, accompanied often by his young son, for an early morning fill of service above self before the Bellevue High bell sound...not to mention weekend tree plantings and other work projects.
To take his mind for a walk after the academic intensity of unscrambling debits and credits, Mike relished sharing his gift for piano music through the Gonzaga U jazz combo. In addition, perhaps with future Rotarian-ism in mind, he often lent a hand at Spokane’s Rotary First Harvest gatherings.
We have prolific new member generator, Mark Davis, and his good friend and Mike’s dad, Roarke O’Brien, to thank for steering this Young Rotary Leader into our fold. And maybe for a little nudge from his mom, Amy O’Brien too, who’s in the house for the occasion. Let’s see, in 72 years you’ll be 96, a lot of upside potential to garner the longest-serving, most perfectly attended Seattle 4 member, ever.
So, let’s get Mike O’Brien on his way, with a welcome he won’t forget!
