Matthew Wagner sent a message to William Henry Gates that said:
Greetings!
My name is Matthew Wagner, and I felt compelled to write this email to you in thanks for your unequivocal and nearly ubiquitous contribution to the health and welfare of people around the world. I understand you attended the University of Washington in your younger years, which is the university I dream to attend in the future as well. My adoptive mother, Mary Kuhner, works there as a professor and specialist in population genetics. Through your development of Microsoft you have created a world of opportunities and impacted the lives of millions of people, myself included. In actuality, you have indirectly saved my life.
I was a foster kid from the ages of 4-10, being moved through 5 different homes in that time frame. Mary adopted me and became the catalyst for my ambition, and fostered my appetite for intellectual growth. Through her I learned of you and your direct contribution to the U.W.. You have provided the city with an institution of learning that allowed someone like Mary to build a career for herself, which, as fate would have it, led to her adoption of a troubled child such as myself. You see, I have always been exceptionally bright for my age, which made it difficult for foster parents to take care of me. Mary loved this challenge, however, and saw in me what many others didn't. She made me proud to be who I am, and out of the ashes, a phoenix was born. I have a fiery ambition to become successful in life. Recently, I moved back to my place of birth in Aberdeen, Washington. I am attending Grays Harbor College, and currently enrolled in the Carpentry program. My plan is to develop the skills necessary to remodel houses in the real estate industry, and eventually acquire a computer science degree at the U.W.. Finances are rough, as you can imagine, and I hope that I am able to reach a point of stability so I can focus on academics.
That is enough about me, though, as all of this is to say thank you. Thank you Bill, for being a wonderful human being. Thank you for taking the time to read this email, and feel free to respond if you would like, it would mean the world to me, truly!
With warm regards,
Matthew Wagner
