I was recently invited to address a group of high school students who are enrolled in a SAS programming course.

That's right -- I said high school students.

These students are part of the Academy of Information Technology (AOIT) at a local high school. The AOIT is part of the National Academy Foundation, a public-private partnership to create specialized "school-within-a-school" environments.

As a representative from SAS R&D, my job was to show the students the range of software that we develop and illustrate how people from all walks of life use it. My goal was to make them glad that they were learning SAS -- it's truly a useful life skill.

Since I help develop SAS Enterprise Guide, that was the first thing I showed to them. Their reaction was instant: jaws dropped, "oohs" and "aahs", and a hint of disappointment.

"What is it?" I asked. "Don't you use Enterprise Guide in your programming class?"

Nope. The instructor hides it from them on purpose because it would make their assignments "too easy."