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.

Nikki Soulsby

My first ever college class was “Hitler/Stalin” with Dr. John Ashbrook. On the first day, he strolled to the front of the room- mid-40s, handlebar mustache, curly hair fluffed out around his ears, tie-dye T-shirt, nose ring, and small owlish glasses. Within minutes I knew this wasn’t a “normal” class. He was funny, a little irreverent, and an instigator of debates. The expectation was that we come prepared to discuss the theories presented, develop an opinion, and be able to defend it. There was nowhere to hide, you were going to participate (whether you liked it or not). After a few classes, I found my voice. After a few more, I’d found a backbone. And then I got my first research paper back: C+. Read more>>

Quincy Johnson

The biggest lessons came in college. The first time around, I failed out of SFA. It was such a big jump moving from high school and being dependent on parents and school staff to guide you to being out in the middle of the ocean alone. I didn’t realize I was learning a lesson, but I was. I came home and took a break from school for a while.  Fast forward to 2011, when I had lived a little life, I enrolled in the University of Texas at Dallas. I learned from experience that no one is coming to save you. You must seek out the opportunities you want and build the right skills and relationships to take full advantage of the opportunity. I ended up Cuma Sum Laude for my Undergrad, then moved on to graduate with my Master’s.  You are not a sum of your failures; your life is a collection of lessons you can learn from or fail the class. Read more>>

Cara Fischer

I really love drawing, thanks to great professors at College of Charleston! I learned that drawing is about taking an objective look at what is in front of you, minus all the prior judgements or conceptions you may have. Read more>>

Payton Soicher

I did not really ever find a subject in school that I really enjoyed until I was a sophomore in college. I had always gotten good, not great, grades and never really had any issues getting homework done or feeling like I was behind the rest of the class. However, there was nothing that I felt like I had been challenged on, nor did I ever feel like I fully understood why we would learn the things we did. So sophomore year in college, I had an academic advisor sit down with me and figure out what subject I should declare for a major. I had taken some math classes and enjoyed it, but now I had to decide if I wanted to get a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree. I really did not enjoy learning a second language in high school (which I now regret), so I went in the route of going towards a bachelor of science. This meant I had to pick between physics, chemistry, astronomy, or computer science. I thought that computer science just meant doing excel spreadsheets, which I already knew how to do, so that seemed like a no brainer. Read more>>