Another data point of an accomplished man being down to earth. I almost find this just a step beyond the call of duty.

Scenario: Imagine that you are looking for a job to the next hot small start-up. Send an email pretending that you are a high school student looking for a word of guidance. See if they will have the time to respond the same way dmr did. Judge

Start ups may not have a lot of time to respond to that sort of thing. When you are living off Ramen and praying that you don't lose money this year, you tend to be pretty busy.

I think you can still find a couple minutes to respond to someone reaching out for help once in a while. It doesn't mean it's your responsibility to shoulder all the burden of helping everyone asking, but it is worth doing it sometimes because even if you don't realize it, other people did it for you, many times.

Suggestion: while waiting for the beans to boil, why not put a simple short Web page together with information aimed at College students? Stress the generic (problem solving, attention to detail, big picture planning, importance of getting and listening to feedback from customers &c) and link these to skill set needed.

Shows commitment to the Youth, Values, Caring &c and takes seconds to point to if/when the e-mails arrive.

I am mentoring a cousin and younger brothers of some of my friends who want to study CS or consider a career in this field. If they ask questions about how to prepare for a CS major, or eventually getting a job at companies, I tell them what I wish I had known when I was 17. I didn't have such a person to turn to when I was college age and was wondering whether this was the right career for me, given there are so many interesting options.

It only takes a few tens of minutes of my time to reply to their emails, but the type of mentorship, upbringing, or just sheer luck you had while growing up may not be available to someone else. Sometimes, it just takes a few words to help set their course.

While I am nowhere as accomplished as dmr, it's empowering to know that someone ten years younger would still love to be in my position, and that a few kind words can give them the encouragement to keep going.