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What happened to Mary? Mary focused her reading skills impact on others. For an
on materials on grief including On Death and Dying by upcoming writing assign-
Dr. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross. Understanding grief from a ment, strive for a reward
scientific perspective helped her grasp the emotional beyond a good grade. Con-
component. Then she took the risk of showing her drafts sider writers that make you think, inspire
to others and staying open to the feedback she received. you, or help you. Imagine saying something that has a
Her deep connection to the subject matter, combined lasting impact on others or, at the very least, on the
with her hard work, resulted in the reward of an out- quality of your own thinking. Write down three things:
standing paper. The assignment as stated, how you plan to craft an
At graduation, Mary received the Lloyd W. Dinkel- important message, and finally, three authors and/or
spiel Award, recognizing contributions to undergradu- books that contain the kind of impactful writing you
ate education or the quality of student life at Stanford. strive to create.
She then worked at Stanford for eight years as an asso-
ciate director of admissions and later as assistant dean What risk may bring reward beyond your world? As
of students. As “a gatekeeper,” Mary recalls, “my job assistant dean of students at Stanford, Mary also super-
was to get the gate open.” She worked in admissions vised new student orientation, hiring a staff of up to
at Colorado State University and the University of Den- 14 students each summer to help plan the orientation
ver before risking a career change and moving on to activities. “Many of those students who worked for
the nonprofit Daniels Fund in the scholarship program, me still keep in touch,” she says. “They tell me they
where she currently helps students and their families still remember the life lessons I helped instill in them.”
navigate the college waters. Consider volunteering for your campus’s orientation
program. What reward can your small risk of personal
What does this mean for you? Years after college, when time have for newcomers? Think back to your first
she was working her first job—in cable television—Mary days on campus and what information you benefited
shared her paper with two co-workers who were griev- from—or would have, had it been made available to
ing, and it helped them. “It felt great to have that kind you. Find a way to bring that information to those
of impact,” she says. Your writing, too, can have a lasting who need it.

GLOBAL RI SK AND REWARD Startup companies exist because people took a risk to spend

money and time on a product they believe in, in the hopes that
great reward lies ahead. A Japanese startup called Whill has cre-
ated an electric add-on that converts a conventional wheelchair
into a motorized vehicle. The prizewinning product has a bright
future, especially with a growing elderly population. 14

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