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.

Erin Stetzer

I believe my systematic approach developed from my time spent playing Division 1 basketball at Fairfield University, where I learned the value of hard work and perseverance, as well as the importance of setting high standards for myself, my team, and my surroundings. Read more>>

Annie Davis

I was raised in Vermont which is fondly characterized for being a forward-thinking mecca, always several steps ahead of the current sociopolitical climate. We learned to sing songs like “Imagine” by John Lennon and “Big Yellow Taxi” by Joni Mitchell as part of our elementary school curriculum. We learned hands-on about our ecosystems and how to be mindful stewards, in addition to what every other child was learning across the country. What I still often come back to is seeing Normal Rockwell’s interpretive poster of the Golden Rule in my sixth-grade classroom every day, reading “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”. This stuck with me my whole life. Read more>>

john lupone

This story is about one of my students years ago. He was about 12 at the time and was not interested in taking classes in the studio. He only showed up to class when his parents threated to take away his electronics. Every now and again he would buckle down and get focused in the classes, but that was a rare event. One day he comes into class very excited, he was bouncing around the studio and could not focus at all. I talked to his parents after class, and they encouraged my young student to talk about his school day. As he started to tell me about an incident on the playground his eyes lit up and he started to speak very fast. Read more>>

Haley Taylor Schlitz

The one thing that my whole educational journey, from homeschool-highschool to law school, has taught me is that you don’t find your path, you make it. You will never come across a golden paved road adorned with signs reading your name. Even in the mainstream highway of public school each student has their own experiences, from grades to social interactions. But if we really want our educational system to teach students in a way that they understand, retain, and are motivated to continue then we must personalize our classrooms and lessons better. Read more>>

Alicia Phoenix

I went to Scottsdale Culinary Institute (now Le Cordon Bleu) in Arizona. On the very first day of ‘Kitchen Basics’ class, our teacher told the class that if anybody had come to culinary school looking for fame, money or an easy life – they should get up and get out. I don’t think the average/non-food industry person realizes the hours, sweat, toil and absolute LOVE that goes into what we do. The rush of pride at being able to create something that tastes divine, looks like a work of art and brings a smile to the customer’s face is the reason we work hard and keep going. Read more>>

Nkem DenChukwu

I am a big fan of transparency and authenticity. I remember many girls in high school, being very comfortable faking their lifestyles to be what they were not. They painted what they believed were prettier pictures. On visiting Sundays, a few of them were intentionally cruel to the parents who bore them, fed them, nurture them, and raising them to be educated (against all odds). They constantly denied their “poor-looking” parents who came to visit them with foods and the provisions they could afford. Read more>>

David Thomson

When I arrived at The University of Denver, I started a whole new journey. I had no past history to keep up with, I was free. I immediately jumped into activities that inspired me, activities that truly built the person I am today. Some of those included taking all Freshman to the mountains for 3 days, taking ALL students to Steamboat for 3 days of skiing, becoming Student body president and being active in my fraternity- Kappa Sigma. These are the real life skill sets that train you for the real world. Read more>>

Basil Schaban-Maurer

My early training in Architecture began at The University of Texas at Arlington’s school of Architecture and environmental design, now known as CAPPA, where I was influenced by the humanist work of my mentor, the late professor Andrej Pinno. His design philosophy was distinguished by its emphasis on the users of Architecture and how they engaged their buildings, in contrast to elitist stylistic trends, dictated by the narcissism of rich clients and Starchitects, which were taught in other studios. Read more>>

Jerry & Francesca Matthews & Viamonte

Jerry- This is such a fun question because we met in college and started working together during those years and even founded our company near the end of our college careers. During that time, we learned so many valuable lessons that have really helped form who we are as designers, today. For me personally, I think one lesson that really sticks out to me the most is how to incorporate who we are, personality-wise as well as preferences into our business and designs. Read more>>

Stephanie Knowles

The most impactful lesson I learned in school was to never take things for granted. In the years past, previous generations influenced you to continue your education after high school so that you could have a good foundation in the work force. During my senior year in high school, I could remember the childhood anxiety of receiving the college acceptance letters in the mail. Before English class started, my teacher would post the names of the colleges on the chalkboard that everyone was attending in the Fall. Read more>>