We asked some of the brightest folks from within the community to reflect back on their days in school and to share with us a story of when they learned a particularly important or impactful lesson. We’ve shared highlights below.

Kayla Jenkins

Throughout my scholastic career, the most important lesson I learned was adaptability. initially, I was married to my checklist–each item on the list had to be accomplished within the assigned timeline. However, my last year of law school was a painful reminder that I had to learn to be flexible and properly adapt to changes. In my final semester of law school, I experienced the onset of blindness. Everything from that point changed. I had to adapt to a new way of reading and taking notes. Also, I had to remind myself that it was okay to be flexible for my deadlines. This lesson has shaped how I now approach challenges in my life. As my journey continues, I am constantly adapting and extending myself grace to move at a different pace. Read more>>

Jay Borman

I went to an art school in Columbus, Ohio called Columbus College of Art and Design. The first year is called “foundation year” where every student takes the same classes. They are all of the basics, 2D Design, Color Theory, Life Drawing, etc. It was a TON of work that was due every week. The next year we declared our major and at the end of the year, we had to go through a review board. Only about 50% of the students made it through the review, the rest had to change majors or leave the school. I made it through. This taught me the value of working hard and delivering results. Read more>>

Saloni Bedi

The most important lesson I learned during my graduate studies at MIT was the incredible power of multidisciplinary collaboration to create products that truly evolve with people and their needs. This realization came to life through two pivotal experiences: leading the Accessible Pregnancy Test (APT) project and developing a hydration monitor at the Gray Research Lab. Read more>>