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She was a standout in her undergrad journalism class, and turned into the kind of extra-mile intern newsroom recruiters hope for Dean's List, Phi Beta Kappa, spending the spring semester in France.


If you could give away $200 of someone else's money, who would you give it to? Join the discussion at the Debatables blog.


Even so, the resume the graduating UNCG senior is circulating puts high on the work experience list the full-time job that got her through school "barista" at Starbucks.


The irony, of course, being that even Starbucks is cutting back. The very jobs students bank on during school can, in this economy, dry up quicker than you can say, "Latte Grande."


I was thinking about my former student the other day when our friends from 107.5 KZL's "Murphy in the Morning" show called with an offer that is never refused: to give away someone else's money.


In this case, the station's cash giveaway had no strings attached. Just an envelope full of $20 bills 10 of them, in my case to give out to people in need.


This sounded like my lucky day, until I had the envelope in my hand. In fact, this was a riddle.


What could you do with $200 that would possibly make a difference in someone's life?


Standing in line for a hot dog downtown, as an anti-gang prayer service was going on in the courthouse plaza, I weighed my options.


Buy the first 200 hungry people a hot dog? Hang around the gas pumps at Great Stops and buy four struggling commuters a tank of gas each? Pay someone's light bill? Or just stand in the middle of the plaza and hand out twenties?


This was starting to seem futile when, still waiting for my hot dog, I bumped into Nancy McLean, founder of Joseph's House shelter for homeless boys.


Having come downtown to vote, McLean didn't know a thing about the anti-gang rally, but she knows a thing or two about helping teenage boys who don't have homes or family structure.


One of the first boys McLean took in was Alexander Guy, who managed to graduate from high school in spite of being homeless. Now he's 20, working at Wal-Mart and registered to attend GTCC in the fall, with an interest in journalism. What did he lack?


Books, McLean said. He would initially have to shell out money for books, and $100, half my budget of somebody else's money, would help.


With half my work done, I called another social worker, Greensboro Housing Coalition's Vivian Clark. The last time I saw Clark, she had sweet-talked her way onto a towing service lot, where a homeless man's wheelchair had been impounded along with all his ID and medical cards.


If anyone could stretch the remaining $100, it was Clark. And though her usual role is to go in search of funds to meet a need, and not vice-versa, she didn't miss a beat when asked.


"Actually," Clark said, "I do know a young lady..."


That was Brittany Harris, 20, who is enrolled at N.C. A&T for the fall with a plan to study Spanish and work as an interpreter. Her father, a disabled vet, is determined that his daughter start school, and just about everything is in place.


But "just about" is never enough. There will be orientation fees and health checkups, and she's saving up for a laptop computer. She'll need more than $100, but now she is $100 closer.


Of course, it's easy to give away someone else's money. But just this week, Guilford County voters showed the wisdom, despite harsh economic conditions, of investing in community colleges.


This is the time when we need education most, and need to invest in youth. That's because the old jobs are never coming back. And there are only so many Latte Grandes that need to be served.

Contact Lorraine Ahearn at 373-7334 or lorraine.ahearn@news-record.com