College was my parents most expensive bar tab!
Lessons Beyond the Classroom: How College and Career Shaped My Journey of Growth and Innovation
What College Taught Me—And What It Didn't
Like most things in life, college was nothing more than an adventure for me. I looked forward to new people, new ZIP codes, and keg parties with people I had yet to meet. The idea of learning at the young age of 18, when our youthful minds have so many distractions, was not on my radar. Not even remotely.
I learned three things in college. They were learned at two different colleges and one college bar, and they are as follows:
- The science of the brain when under duress — Catawba College
- Rats run faster when on caffeine — Old Dominion University
- The shrew was the first animal with a true placenta — Club 4400 Bar, Norfolk, VA
Perhaps my educational journey was not stellar, but the experience, degree, and relationships were what I truly wanted to achieve.
Learning and hard work would commence for me in my career. With my Taurean “never quit” attitude, I hit the ground running when I entered Wall Street at 25. Two years later, I would become one of the country's leading industry experts on the most lucrative landscape design change to hit Wall Street in its history.
We were at one percent penetration across the globe, and that was the low point of my career.
The footprint of the innovations I built to support this 21st-century digital world, with its invisible technology, will live on longer than I will.
So, enjoy your college experience.
Make new friends. Go to that party. Study hard. Go to those classes. And keep a well-balanced college career.
All of the above have the potential to stay with you for a lifetime.
College may not look the way you imagined it would. You may not remember every class, every assignment, or every lecture. But you will remember the people you met, the experiences you had, the things you learned about yourself, and the moments that shaped who you became.
Make the most of all of it.
