‘Good ideas come from anyone, anywhere’
When Lt. Col. Consuelo Castillo Kickbusch, the daughter of a maid and a handyman, was growing up in a barrio in Laredo, Tex., the helping hand of a big-hearted stranger helped her to dream of a better life — and to reach for it. Years later, thanks to the help of a Mr. Cooper from South Boston, she said, she went on to a distinguished 20-year career in the U.S. Army, becoming the first female commissioned officer in Texas and commanding three units of soldiers.Kickbusch, the keynote speaker at this year’s MIT Diversity Summit, said she later left the Army to carry out a mission to inspire others like her who may not have good role models, or who may not be taken seriously because of their color, sex, ethnicity, or religion. “I feel like I’ve met a soulmate,” said physics professor Edmund Bertschinger, who was named last year as...