25 Ducks award recipient Brett Cahill is a senior economics major from Hermiston, Oregon. In his spare time, Cahill is a part of the Navigators Bible Study Club and the University of Oregon College Republicans. After he graduates, Cahill plans on finding a job to gain some more experience and then will consider coming back to the University of Oregon to pursue a graduate degree depending on his situation later in life. 

Changing the World
Cahill plans on changing the world by increasing the effectiveness of our primary education. He believes that “this is the best way to improve our education system here and to compete globally.”

If Cahill could get a message across to a large group of people it would be that the American Dream is not dead. He recalls hearing some of his professors say that the “American Dream is dead and that there is no reason to even try” to obtain it anymore. Cahill knows a few people, including himself, where this is not the case. “I come from a middle income, blue collar family and I am about to graduate” he states. Cahill will be the first member of his family to graduate, so this furthers his belief that the American Dream is not dead.

Favorite Quote
“March on in the face of uncertainty and struggle.” He states that he likes this quote because in his first year at the University of Oregon he received some financial aid, but since then has not received any. Every term he has received a letter saying that he may not get to go to school the next term and Cahill recalls feeling “devastated, thinking I should probably just quit and find a job, but I just kept going and I am about to graduate in a couple of weeks.”

Advice to Other Students
The message that Cahill has for other students who want to make a difference is that you should “hold on to your beliefs and your ideas, but still be able to challenge them.” He adds, “Because only by challenging them do you actually find out what you believe in.”

Interested in learning more about Brett Cahill? Follow him on Twitter: @brettcahill2