In September 2008, when US financial markets swirled toward precipitous decline, Jeffrey Lim was an Arlington High School senior. Little did he know how events that fall would shape his future. As bailouts to Wall Street brought cries from Main Street, an idea for change stirred in Lim, one that began to take a clearer shape this year.

Lim, who graduated from AHS in 2009 and has finished his sophomore year at MIT, is among 24 people nationwide awarded $100,000 each from the Thiel Foundation. He has two years to work on his ideas to alter financial reality and will be on leave from MIT during that time.

"Every step of the way since I applied for this," he wrote in an email, "I was sure that I wouldn't make it; it was really only on a whim that I decided to apply at all. However, now that I've made it this far, the real challenge is what lies ahead. And although it's a frightening prospect, to leave behind the comfort of regimented grade-by-grade schooling, I know that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a real difference right now."

His goal? Lim wants to increase the amount of voluntary exchange and cooperation in the world by revamping some of our core economic and social institutions.

"My idea came from considering what the problems are that contributed to the current financial crisis," he wrote. "It's my belief that our inefficient, centralized monetary and banking system was at least partly to blame. Therefore, I'm looking for a way we can use the Internet to bring money and banking back to the individual."

A computer science major with a minor in management, he makes clear that what he wants to do is nowhere near a fully fleshed-out business plan: "I recognize that I'll have to adapt my plans depending on how they go. My overall vision, as it says on the website, is to use the power of information technology to find more efficient solutions to economic problems."

Getting $100,000 has its own realities: Over two years, he needs to pay for his own taxes, housing and expenses. "So it's not that much," he adds. "But it's pretty good, considering the experience, mentorship, and the fact that they aren't even asking for any equity in my venture."

"I thought it was a dream!"

The call from the head of the Thiel Foundation came as a surprise.

"In order not to be disappointed," he wrote, "I had been working under the assumption that I would not be accepted -- I figured I'd soon get my rejection letter, and then move on with my life.

"And as a matter of fact, when I got the phone call, I didn't believe it -- I thought it was a dream!

"But after I convinced myself that yes, this is real, I was actually quite apprehensive about accepting their offer, since how could I, someone with no business experience and a fairly ordinary childhood, possibly measure up to the other candidates?"

Some of the winners are PhD candidates and people who are already running successful businesses, he wrote: "Bear in mind that they are all no older than 20, so I thought there'd be no way I could live up to their expectations."

After talking it over with friends and family, he considered the fact that he was among the first candidates to be notified and that the foundation was well aware of his lack of credentials. "I'm still nervous about this," he wrote, "but I'm ready to accept their mentorship and support, knowing that at least someone has confidence in my prospects."

Asked how his preparation at AHS led to this award, he was straightforward: "The only class that directly prepared me for where I am now was Hugh Morgenbesser's computer programming class, which interested me in studying computer science in the first place. Other than that, the most I can say is that AHS classes were not so time-consuming that they prevented me from being able to pursue my own intellectual interests."

Jeff's mother, Meg, told how she sees her son's growth toward this achievement. She is program coordinator/lead teacher at the Supported Learning Center at AHS, and she wrote: "Jeff was always an unusual child who was fiercely and relentlessly in pursuit of answers. I remember being exhausted to the point of tears from his incessant questions about everything in the world. 

"I remember my relief when he was old enough to attend half-day kindergarten because I would have a respite from the questions why? how? when? etc.  Despite my exhaustion, I always tried to answer, and when I didn't know the answer, we would go in pursuit of it.

"And with this also came the amusement of his constantly playing games with information. He once asked me 'Why are ants like checkers?' I shrugged, he responded, 'They are black and red.' He was about 3."

"What we grew to expect was the unexpected from him.

"People urged us to send him to special schools, accelerated programs, or skip a grade or two. I resisted this because of personal experience ... and knew that above all else I wanted to raise a child who would be healthy, happy and well-balanced in whatever he does. It was far more important to raise a child who could relate to people than to raise a child who discovers a cure for a serious disease at 17 years old.

"So, the bottom line was, he would attend public schools and he would have the freedom to explore the intellectual pursuits that gave him a personal kick, and he would learn to relate to his peers, all the while building a resume that led to this latest achievement."

Arlington schools as a foundation

Did the Arlington public schools help guide him to this point? 

Meg wrote that "it was just the one of the many pieces of the young man who he is."

Among his intellectual interests has been economics, which he has studied independently since he was about 14. Another is linguistics, where he competed on an international level as a member of the first and second US Linguistics Teams while at AHS.

"Arlington public schools provided what he needed as a foundation," she wrote; "he probably would have found it somehow, no matter where he went, but it is clear to me that they did right by him."

Principal Charles Skidmore recognized his abilities, she wrote, and allowed him to do Latin III as an independent study as well as advanced-placement computer science as an independent study, because of his schedule conflicts in one case and the lack of an instructor in the other.

On a blue-sky Sunday in June 2009, Lim was the honors speaker at his AHS graduation. Among his words that day:

"I hope we can all take this moment to reflect with pride on what we have accomplished and on how we have all grown and changed. The great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy once said, 'Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself,' a powerful reminder in any day and age of the task we all face in life. If we are to improve the world, we must begin by improving ourselves. And at that we all have had ample practice."

Some details about the award, foundation

Lim is among the first members of the 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship. In general, grants are awarded to those who pursue innovative scientific and technical projects, learn entrepreneurship and begin to build the technology companies of tomorrow.

NPR, May 27: Thiel Foundation podcast

In two years, each fellow will receive guidance from the foundation’s network of tech entrepreneurs and innovators. The project areas for this class of fellows include biotech, career development, economics and finance, education, energy, information technology, mobility, robotics and space.

Peter Thiel, for whom the foundation is named and who helped develop PayPal, announced the winners May 25. "The fellows are a tremendous group of young people who are going to advance the frontiers of knowledge, shake up staid industries, and change the world," he said.

"Tomorrow will not take care of itself. In order to solve vexing problems and increase the quality of life for people everywhere, the world’s economy needs continuous scientific and technical innovation from outstanding creative minds. I’m looking forward to helping the Fellows become the next generation of tech visionaries."

James O’Neill, the head of the Thiel Foundation, who called Lim, said: "The fellows' creativity, intelligence, and leadership were captivating. They’re challenging the authority of the present and the familiar. We had planned to award 20 fellowships, but the number of outstanding candidates far exceeded our expectations. It was challenging to select only 24, and impossible to pick only 20. We’re excited to be working with them, and we hope they will help young people everywhere realize that you don’t need credentials to launch a company that disrupts the status quo."

More than 400 people younger than 20 applied to be fellows. Applications arrived from nearly two dozen countries, and from nearly 200 high schools, junior colleges, community colleges, four-year colleges, and graduate schools. Many applicants never went to college, had already stopped out of school, were already working, or had already launched their own company. 

Thiel is a technology entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. He first gained attention for innovations in banking and startup finance. Today he is known for his warnings about a coming technology deficit with severe economic consequences. 

This story was published Friday, May 27, 2011.