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revisit RISK AND REWARD

What happened to Suzanne? To her surprise, Suzanne you going to make a mistake
returned to the newsroom after her nerve-wracking live or excel in that moment
TV debut to a standing ovation from her colleagues. The when everybody is watch-
next day, the producer sent Suzanne on another live ing? That’s when you have
assignment, and she was rock-solid. “The second time I to dig deeper and find that faith and courage
went out there it was like I had been doing it for years,” and confidence in yourself,” Suzanne says. “At some point
she recalls. “A calmness washed over me.” in your life, you have to be fearless, and that’s when you
Two decades later, the reward for Suzanne’s risk taking turn the corner.” Describe a moment when you struggled
and persistence is a sterling reputation in broadcast journal- with a test—academic or otherwise—but risked action and
ism. She co-anchors Around the World daily on CNN. Previ- ultimately were rewarded with success. What got you
ously, she covered Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, through? How can you put that experience to use with
and Barack Obama during her ten years as CNN White future tests in and out of the classroom?
House correspondent. In 2011, Suzanne was embedded
What risk may bring reward beyond your world? Much
with U.S. troops in Afghanistan and led breaking news cov-
of Suzanne’s work at CNN involves using the power of
erage of the terrorist attack on the U.S. embassy.
knowledge and discourse to spark change. You too can
Suzanne has earned an Emmy Award for her coverage
seize the opportunity, granted by this nation’s democracy,
of the revolution in Egypt. She was named one of “Amer-
to understand and affect what’s happening. Register to
ica’s Most Powerful Players Under 40” by Black Enterprise
vote—and vote when the time comes. Read about issues
magazine and Essence magazine’s 2009 Journalist of the
and discuss them with friends and family. Consider inves-
Year. Recently, the Columbia University Graduate School of
tigating organizations like Young Politicians of America,
Journalism recognized her coverage of the 2008 Obama
which aims to revive political discourse and awareness by
campaign as “One of the Top 50 Stories of the Century.”
establishing nonpartisan civic clubs in high schools and
What does this mean for you? Suzanne has had plenty of colleges. Learn more at www.ypa.org. See how you can
pressure to excel in her career. Her story of risk and reward change the world by getting involved in your township,
is valuable no matter your academic or career path. “Are county, state, or nation.

GLOBAL RI SK AND REWARD In the late 1990s, the new country of Estonia had just won its

independence from Russia, and Estonian citizens felt energy
and possibility. Empowered by this sense of potential, a group
of Estonians highly trained in computer technology took the
risk to develop the platform for Skype, creating a new way to
communicate over the Internet at little or no cost using video
or microphone. While the world enjoys the reward of connect-
ing via Skype, the company earned significant reward for its risk
as well when it was bought by Microsoft for $8.5 billion. 13

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