Articles by Matt Ellsworth

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Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jul 30, 2010

What is the Flinn Scholarship worth?

The value of the Flinn Scholarship

Between late next month, when Flinn Scholarship applications go live, and the middle of next May, when we announce the Class of 2011, one of the most frequently asked questions that Foundation staff will receive is:

"So, what is the Flinn Scholarship worth?"

Sometimes, I can just about see the wheels turning in an applicant or parent's mind as I rattle off what the award provides--an allotment for study and travel abroad, funding for room and board, the value of eight semesters of tuition provided by the university. Add it up, and you have a sum near $90,000.

People tend to hear that number in a couple of different ways.

For some people (this was me in the fall of 1993), it sounds almost like the Powerball jackpot, the kind of largess that would change one's life. I was one of those applicants for whom it was either win the Flinn Scholarship or scrape together work-study, a partial scholarship, tons of loans, and still be living pretty frugally--definitely lacking the resources for study abroad, for example.

For other people, the monetary benefit of the scholarship sounds, well, small. I've quoted a figure that's almost insignificant. Over the course of a year or two of researching universities, they've gotten used to the idea of Ivy League sticker prices, to the extent that $200,000 for tuition alone has started to sound normal.

In either case, though, if I answer that question--"What is the Flinn Scholarship worth?"--by talking about money, I've given an answer that isn't really accurate. The Flinn Scholarship doesn't have that much to do with money.

I say that while fully aware of how beneficial it was to not have money worries as an undergraduate. My options expanded dramatically. My capacity to concentrate my energy on my studies, on creative pursuits, on campus activities, on travel--all of that was magnified tenfold by the modest financial freedom that the scholarship permitted me.

But still, the Flinn Scholarship doesn't have that much to do with money. I think this is closer to what it means:

A few weeks ago, I was emailing back and forth with a Scholar alum who was in town to visit family for the weekend. The alum told me that something wasn't right at home; the alum's father was showing indications of some kind of neurological problem. It wasn't an acute event like a stroke, but it had apparently been worsening rapidly over the course of several weeks. The alum, a young doctor, was growing worried.

Because I was about to leave on vacation, I didn't learn for more than a week what happened. The alum ended up taking the father to the emergency room at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center the next day. Within 48 hours, he was in surgery at Barrow Neurological Institute to have multiple brain tumors removed.

Having recently lost my own father to a long struggle with cancer, I understood some of what the alum was experiencing. Still, there was really very little I could do to help. But I knew who could. I wrote the alum another email:

We have a Scholar alum who's the medical director of neurorehabilitation at Barrow. Christina Kwasnica has stayed in close contact with the Foundation, and I'm sure she would be receptive if you run in to any obstacles in the next little while. I'd be happy to put you in touch with her.

Christina Kwasnica, M.D. (Phoenix Magazine)Tina Kwasnica ('87), a graduate of Mesa Dobson High School, had returned to Arizona after med school at Northwestern University, and had soon enough assumed important clinical leadership roles at Barrow. Earlier this year, Phoenix Magazine called Tina (pictured on the right) one of metro Phoenix's five "most innovative physicians who are taking patient care into the next frontier."

The alum wrote me back late that night:

Ironically, Dr. Kwasnica is my dad's neurorehab doc and I just got off of the phone with her. I love the Flinn family. Now I am much more reassured, even though I haven't even met her in person, that my dad is getting terrific care. Isn't that funny?

How do you quantify the value of gaining a second family?  I can't. And that's why, when I meet an applicant or a parent, it can be so hard to answer their questions satisfactorily.

If I have enough time, I end up resorting to stories like this one. There are more of them, many more, stories that just about any current or alumni Flinn Scholar could tell of what the Flinn scholarship is really worth.

 


Photo by flickr user nathangibbs

Tags: 87, application season, christina kwasnica, medicine
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Nov 27, 2009

"Tell me, why Arizona?"

When Ryan Johnson ('02) was living in Santiago, Chile, on one of his study-travel experiences as a Flinn Scholar from the University of Arizona, he witnessed a facet of Chilean public transportation that, undoubtedly, thousands of visiting students have observed: the buses drove fast. And consequently, they were involved in terrible and frequent accidents.

What Ryan did next provided a fairly good indication of the career path for which he was bound. He studied the problem, discovering that drivers were paid per passenger--meaning that, the faster they drove between stops, the more they would earn. He wrote about his findings in a paper that was featured in a World Bank publication; not long after, Santiago's public-transportation regulations were revised to match the alternative, safer system that Ryan had proposed.

Here's what Ryan has been doing lately.


Flinn Scholar Ryan Johnson ('02) is a consultant for McKinsey and Company in Africa

Now that I’ve transferred to the Johannesburg office of McKinsey & Company, my employer, I’m experiencing a range of challenges I never experienced working for U.S. institutions. 

On a recent study for a South African government agency (footnote: we keep the specific names of clients confidential), we were working for the minister to develop an action plan in the face of the recession. McKinsey advises top executives (or in this case, government officials) across the world on their most important strategic matters. On this study that meant figuring out what to do when a government revenue increase turns into a decrease, yet the government already promised to increase services.

The problem was challenging enough, and then one day from the team room we heard a series of horns. It sounded like a soccer match. I asked my teammates, “is that a vuvuzela?” Then we heard more noise. Finally, we went outside and realized the employees were on strike.

So instead of discussing the long-term impact of the recession, for that day’s meeting we starting preparing to discuss what to do about the strike.

On another study working for a parastatal infrastructure company, I learned that the pace of African business can be a bit… slow.  I had invited a dozen clients to a workshop I was giving on the future of one of the company’s main divisions. It was very important to have everyone there to agree on the vision. When the meeting started, nobody was there. Thirty minutes later we had a handful, and the last one came a full three hours after the meeting started. I wish I could say this was an isolated incident. 

Working in Africa can sometimes be stressful like that, but now I just laugh and say, it’s all part of the adventure.

McKinsey consultants typically rotate studies every three or four months, so I get exposed to a range of industries, business functions, and geographies. I love the chance to work at a railroad terminal one month, and the next month work for the head of marketing for a leading computer company, and then work for a government agency in Africa. Now that I’m based in Johannesburg, I’ll have the chance to work all over Sub-Saharan Africa on our wide range of clients here.

My international experience started with the Flinn Scholars' Eastern European seminar and travel grants. In addition to an appreciation for the growth and opportunity that comes from international exposure, it helped me uncover my passion, transportation. Ever since Flinn travel to Santiago, Chile, where I studied how certain bus-driver contracts were causing dozens of incremental traffic deaths per year, I have had an interest in understanding public and private transportation issues.

I later interned at the United Nations and World Bank working on transportation projects, and then studied informal transportation on a Fulbright Grant in Brazil.

After Brazil, I started with McKinsey & Company, where I sought to understand how the world of global business and institutions works. McKinsey is the world’s leading management-consulting firm, and it is the second-most desired employer (after Google) for business-school graduates. It is also one of the most sought-after employers at Ivy League undergraduate institutions.

McKinsey and Flinn Scholars have a long history together. Besides me, Kaleen Love ('96), Brian Lutz ('97), and Brook Rosenbaum ('94) are currently at the firm. In addition, Kim (Starkey) Jonker ('89), Ben Driggs ('90), and Ian Larkin ('91) all spent time there.

Larkin, now a professor at Harvard Business School, was on my Flinn selection committee and instantly became a mentor. As our conversations progressed from what classes to take freshman year to what to do after school, he convinced me McKinsey was a great place to start a career for the exposure to senior executives and for the exit opportunities it creates.

My first interview question with McKinsey was, "Tell me, why Arizona?" And I knew that the story of the Flinn, the doors it opened, and the experiences it led to would make me stand out from the crowd. The Flinn Scholars program produces individuals and leaders who are very compelling, not just to grad schools, but to employers.

I plan to take next summer off to enjoy the World Cup and travel around Africa. Afterwards, I may stay at McKinsey, go to business school, or look for a position somewhere in Brazil, Africa, or the U.S.

 

Tags: 02, africa, business management, chile, ryan johnson
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Nov 20, 2009

The change-makers of the world

As an undergraduate at the University of Arizona, Flinn Scholar Michelle Yang ('99) majored in international studies, interned with the U.S. State Department in South Korea, and founded a program offering mentorship to children adopted to the United States from China. In 2005, when she was working for Tucson-based Commonwealth Adoptions International Inc., she was named by the Tucson YWCA as one of 13 "Women on the Move."

Here are some of Michelle's reflections on what she has been doing since.


Michelle Yang, 1999 Flinn Scholar, recently finished her MBA at the University of Washington

It’s been ten years since we were announced as the Flinn Class of 1999.

We were told to be the newsmakers of tomorrow, the change-makers of the world.

I look at my peers and I’m so proud. Not only proud of the milestones we have reached, but of the people we have grown into. We’ve seen each other at our worst and our best. We’ve known and felt each others’ heartbreaks, failures, and successes.

Upon graduating from the University of Arizona with dreams of becoming a Foreign Service officer, I worked in international adoption for three years as a program director for adoptions from Taiwan and as a communications director. After completing a stint at the US Embassy in Seoul, Korea, my dreams evolved into nonprofit management.

I moved to Seattle to get my MBA from the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington, emphasizing in nonprofit management and taking electives from the School of Social Work.

During my years at UW, I led a team in the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition. Our project sought to raise funds for the Rwanda Girls Initiative, where I worked with Washington community leaders to build a secondary school for girls in a region of Rwanda especially hard hit by the genocide. The Gashora Girls Academy is now in construction stage with the community center to be completed in January 2010.

I am now the Fund Development and Alumnae Relations Managers at the Girl Scouts of Western Washington. I’ve been in my current role for almost four months now. I love knowing that every day, I am advocating for girls and working to instill in them a strong sense of confidence and leadership.

Thinking of my fellow Flinn Scholars, I recognize that our stories and dreams may be different, but our shared experiences abroad and in school have connected us and shaped us in such a unique way. The Flinn Foundation has played a pivotal role in who I am today.

Tags: 99, michelle yang, nonprofit management
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Oct 07, 2009

Who should apply for the Flinn Scholarship?

The premier merit scholarship to Arizona universities, the Flinn Scholarship, covers tuition, expenses, and provides funds for study abroad.

Blake Thomson ('09) thinks that students who have always dreamed of working three part-time jobs and eating only ramen noodles might not want to apply for the Flinn Scholarship. Here's his advice for everybody else.

Dear potential 2010 Flinn Scholar (yes YOU!),

My name is Blake Thomson, and one short year ago I was working on my Flinn scholarship application, just like you. I was tired of my mom telling me how lucky I would be if I were to receive the scholarship. I was sick of telling her that there was no chance I would receive such an amazing deal. I was frustrated by the idea of having to address such difficult essay prompts just to be turned away by such a prestigious scholarship committee. But I couldn’t stop thinking about the regret I’d feel if I didn’t give myself a chance.

And so, to appease my mom, my friends, my teachers, and most of all, myself, I applied for the Flinn. Of course, to protect my ego and to appear cool and collected, I put up a front of indifference every time someone mentioned the Flinn.  I can’t even count how many times I used the phrase “yeah it’d be cool but… we’ll see” during those ensuing months.

The period of time between my application submission and my selection as a Scholar is hazy, and I think I must’ve blacked out somewhere in there amidst the daunting interviews, the hesitant optimism and the many emails, because I’m not entirely sure how I was chosen to be a Flinn Scholar. But the point is, I got the scholarship.

Even though every time I brought up my application for the Flinn I’d add on to the end of my remark that “obviously it’s a science thing and I won’t get it, but it’s not a big deal.” Even though I kept stressing and searching and studying each college trying to find the right match for me, because I was certain I wasn’t going to have any “viable” in-state options. Even though, in my final interview for the Flinn, I told a decorated and revered former general that, in my opinion, war is never the answer (I think I stopped breathing for the remainder of the interview). Even though I cringed at the thought of going up against all these kids who I was certain were “better than me” for a scholarship that essentially ensures that I am going to have to work hard, dream big, and, to use a cliché, be somebody.

The Flinn is for anyone, not just the science-oriented. However, if you picture any of the following as essential college experiences that you would like to have, you might want to reconsider applying for the Flinn Scholarship:
•    Settling on driving to Nogales for a day-trip to satisfy your urges to “study abroad.”
•    Having to look at any purchase in terms of its food value (e.g. not buying a shirt because “it costs 24 packages of ramen.”)
•    Having to camp out in a lawn chair by the car of your college advisor in order to get in touch with him.
•    Putting that unpaid internship with a congressman on hold because your first priority is defending your title as “Most Reliable Fry-Maker” so you can get the much-needed bonus to pay your college tuition.

These are all things you will not have to deal with as a Flinn Scholar. However, oddly enough, if you are a bit eccentric and for whatever reason would really like to have these experiences, you could still have them as a Flinn Scholar if you so choose. And that’d make you an interesting individual, which means… you’d be a great candidate for the Flinn.

In short, there is no reason not to apply for the Flinn. Don’t second-guess yourself. Show the committee who you are, who you hope to be, and know that you have nothing to regret.

Thank you, and I hope you have a great senior year,

Blake Thomson (’09)


Photo by flickr user saket_vora

Tags: 09, application season, blake thomson
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Oct 01, 2009

Michael's motivational meditations

The premier merit scholarship to Arizona universities, the Flinn Scholarship, covers all expenses, plus provides funds for study abroad.

And we have 23 days left before apps are due! Here's Michael Weingartner ('09), describing his Flinn Scholarship application process.

Dear Flinn Applicants,

    Allow me to preface this message with a note of congratulations not only on your academic achievements to date, but also on your good sense to apply for this Flinncredible scholarship. (Yes, I just made a Flinn pun. We all do it. Get used to it.) The Flinn Foundation Scholarship is a wonderful opportunity, and as a recipient, I highly recommend the application process to anyone, no matter how daunting it might seem at first. The rewards are well worth it. No, scratch that… the rewards are ridiculously well worth it. Like, no contest. This having been said, allow me to relay to you the inspiring story of my own application/interview process.

To begin, I have absolutely no idea how I was chosen for this scholarship. I had never met a Flinn Scholar and only vaguely knew what the program was about. My school had never had one and so when it came time for me to fill out the application, I was more or less on my own. I wrote and revised my essays. I showed them to my mother. She changed them. I changed them back and submitted my application about a week before the deadline.

I waited.

They told me I had an interview. I had never interviewed for anything before. Ever. During my semifinalist interview, I spoke about tap dancing and tomato sauce. Apparently that worked, because I got a second interview.

I was feeling pretty good about myself, but when I started to meet the other students who had made it to the various interviews and I got to hear about everything that they’d done, from studying abroad and winning state debate tournaments to working closely with the governor’s office and interviewing Kristi Yamaguchi (all of these, by the way, are true), I became somewhat discouraged. I had done some impressive things in high school, but compared to these kids, I felt pretty out of my league.

If this happens to you, don’t let it discourage you. Because when they say that “there is no typical Flinn,” they really, REALLY mean it.

They’re not looking for somebody specially picked out ahead of time, and they aren’t looking for somebody with a particular resume. What they’re looking for is to get to know you, and that is my advice: Be yourself, 100%. If you’re a dancer, be a dancer. If you’re a Democrat or a Republican, let that shine through. You don’t have to prove anything, except that you are a thoughtful and unique individual (which, in case you weren’t sure, you already are), and that you deserve this opportunity.

It’s just too good of an opportunity to pass up. Apply and do your best. I’ll be very excited to meet you, and good luck when you go into your Flinnterviews (see, I just did it again.)

~Michael Weingartner (’09)


Photo by Flickr user haagenjerrys

Tags: 09, application season, michael weingartner
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Sep 25, 2009

Emma's essay encouragement

The premier merit scholarship to Arizona universities, the Flinn Scholarship, covers all expenses, plus provides funds for study abroad.

We're counting down the days--under a month to go, now, until the deadline to submit 2010 Flinn Scholarship applications.

About time to hand out a few hints, don't you think? Here's what Emma Kleiner ('09) has to say:

Dear Future Flinn Scholars,

Congratulations on starting the Flinn application process!  My name is Emma, and just one short year ago I was writing (and re-writing) the Flinn essays just like you.

To give you a tangible grasp of the difference that one year can make, tonight I am sitting here writing this letter with another Flinn Scholar.  I also just finished watching “Glee” with my roommate and two great friends that live next door.  Yes, I had some homework to do—but let’s overlook that right now.  There are so many fun college times ahead of you, so just keep that in mind through the whole college-application process—it’s all worth it in the end.  

Now on to addressing application anxieties more concretely:  I read your essay prompts and basically flipped.  They are so cool!  I’m totally jealous and wish I could apply all over again so that I could have the opportunity to write your essays.  Though I cannot speak for the Flinn Foundation, I do know that the selection committee wants to see your true personality shine in these essays.  Have fun and speak your true opinions!  I know that you may be a little worn out by all of your high-school obligations and college applications, but consistent effort in these next five weeks will really improve your essays and make them stand out.  Keep working diligently regardless of how overworked you may feel.  You all have the potential to write amazing and insightful essays. You simply have to allow yourself the time and energy to do that.

I know that many of you will have the chance to accept the Flinn.  Let me assure you that it is the best opportunity ever!  The first thing that I said to my family when I came home from Lost Canyon (the annual Flinn Scholars retreat to northern Arizona) is that I would not trade the Flinn for any Ivy League school.  The Flinn Family is not just a concept—it’s a reality.  I get along with all the Flinn Scholars and have a great time meeting everyone.  The older Flinns have helped me so much, and I look to them for guidance all the time.  

Last year, the idea of being part of the Flinn community inspired me to create special essays.  I hope this letter will inspire you to do the same.  The Flinn experience is worth the effort and time that you’ll invest in your application.  I have so much confidence in each of you.  I can’t wait to meet many of you at your future Flinn interviews!  

Good luck!
Emma Kleiner (’09)


Photo by Flickr user b-love

Tags: 09, application season, emma kleiner
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Aug 07, 2009

On the wedding beat

Danielle Jackson and Flinn Scholar alum Parmi Suchdev ('94), both of whom work at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta

The New York Times fixation on Flinn Scholar weddings continues. This time, it's Parmi Suchdev ('94) getting hitched.

Tags: '94, parmi suchdev
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jul 20, 2009

Remembering an afternoon with Walter Cronkite

Not many Flinn Scholars are old enough to have watched the late Walter Cronkite's broadcasts as anchor of the CBS Evening News. But undoubtedly, all of the Scholars who attended an exclusive lecture and conversation with him in 1995 remember that afternoon vividly.

Tags: flinn scholars, walter cronkite
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
May 12, 2009

Happy trails...

In a few days, Eric Jackson ('93) and his family will be returning to southeast China, where Eric and his wife Emily will be investigating some of the endangered dialects spoken by minority communities in the regions of China near the Vietnamese border.

Tags: 93, china, eric jackson, linguistics
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
May 01, 2009

Yale? Who Needs Yale?

Shelly Lowe, new executive director of the Harvard University Native American Program

Shelly Lowe ('92) is trading in her responsibilities as dean of Yale's Native American Cultural Center for a new role: executive director of the Harvard University Native American Program.

Tags: 92, education, harvard, shelly lowe, yale
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Mar 15, 2009

Quartet

Brad Ford ('92) plays all four parts of "Bantu," a guitar quartet by Andrew York.

Tags: 92, brad ford, music
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Feb 01, 2009

You got a better idea?

Are you one of those people who spends a lot of time thinking about how to build a perpetual-motion machine? Chances are, you might belong on bulbstorm, the latest brainstorm of Bart Steiner ('87).

Tags: 87, bart steiner, entrepreneurship
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jan 28, 2009

She's baaaack...

It was about 15 years ago, and we hadn't figured out yet exactly what we could make of the Flinn Scholarship's travel component. Then--if these distant memories are accurate--we saw Ruth Allard's ('90) slideshow from her trip to Costa Rica, where she'd done some conservation work for a summer.

 

 

Tags: 90, ecology, ruth allard
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jan 23, 2009

How to succeed in business without really trying

Dan Tuttle ('02) just got some good news--he's been accepted to Stanford's business school, his top choice. We're guessing he was one of their top choices, too.

 

Tags: 02, 87, business, dan tuttle, shaun kirkpatrick
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jan 07, 2009

You want a job? Here's one.

If you're a top-level materials chemist with experience building molecules atom by atom, Ambature wants you.

Tags: chemistry, flagstaff, jobs
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Dec 19, 2008

A 65 year-old Scholar?

Here's the address Brian Indrelunas ('04) delivered as the outstanding undergraduate student at fall convocation for the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU.

 

Tags: '04, brian indrelunas, journalism
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Oct 10, 2008

And one time, guys with swords walked up and...

We can’t tell you half of what Jon Gandomi (’99) told us about his adventures visiting all the places on the FAA’s Don’t-Go-There list.

Tags: 99, jon gandomi, meet a flinn scholar, public policy, truman
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Oct 09, 2008

Somebody's in Tucson has been stuck in the SOC way too long

We’re starting to understand why the Phoenix Mars Mission was only scheduled for three months of digging holes and making sand castles on the Red Planet.

Tags: 05, 08, matt hom, melissa lamberton, phoenix mars mission, ua
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Oct 01, 2008

What happened last summer

Joanna Yang was one of two Arizonans picked by the governor to attend the National Youth Science Camp over the summer.

Tags: 08, joanna yang, summer camp
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Sep 27, 2008

Leading the A-Team

Dustin Cox has been named one of eight recipients of the Hon Kachina Volunteer Award.

Tags: 04, 94, alon unger, dustin cox, hon kachina
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Sep 11, 2008

Good luck, kiddies!

The 2009 Scholars application is live.

Tags: application season
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Aug 20, 2008

We're soooo 21st-century now

What you've heard is true. The fledgling Flinn Scholars YouTube channel is up.

Tags: 05, 07, 08, amy stabler, matt hom, nicole rennell, sam wang, sarah trainor, youtube
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jul 30, 2008

Choose your own adventure

We thought Raphael See ('95) was destined for comic glory. As it turns out, he's all about healing broken hearts.

Tags: 95, medicine, raphael see
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jul 15, 2008

On the wedding beat

Mary Fan has big news x 2.

Tags: 93, 94, 97, joe holmgren, law, mary fan, phil hawkins
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jun 28, 2008

Yum.

So where is Devon Sanner ('92) now?

Tags: 92, culinary arts, devon sanner
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jun 25, 2008

Fast track

Kim Demarchi ('93) is on a quick ascent in the legal community.

 

Tags: 93, kim demarchi, law
Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jun 07, 2008

On the Road (day thirteen)

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Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jun 06, 2008

On the Road (day twelve)

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Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jun 05, 2008

On the Road (day eleven)

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Matt_badge-small_thumb Matt Ellsworth
Jun 04, 2008

On the Road (day ten)

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