Chances

So lately, I've reflected a bit on the chances I've been given in life.. some taken, some ignored, and the effects of both situations.

Yesterday I made sure to give recognition of my appreciation for the chance I was given by Dorothy Gracey, the Assistant Dean of the Eberly College of Business here at IUP.

Ms. Gracey went above and beyond what most, if not all of the faculty members here at IUP would do in giving me a chance to return to IUP, and in turn, she put her reputation on the line for me.

I'll readily admit that I'm certainly not the best of students, and my transcript reflects that - greatly. Ms. Gracey not only looked at my transcript, but she challenged me to show her why I deserved another chance, and how I was going to get myself above a 2.0 GPA in one semester. She sat down with me and listened to what I had to say. When it was all done, she was impressed but went even further by fine-tuning my proposal so that it would be much less difficult to achieve my goals.

The Assistant Dean that she replaced wouldn't even talk to me, let alone give me a chance to turn things around. Every day of my remaining academic career I am going to remember how indebted I am to Ms. Gracey and mark my words, before I graduate - she will have much more recognition than some flowers and a thank you note.




Think about the chances that you've been given, think about the ones you grasped and the others that you let pass you by. How different would your life be without those opportunities? What might you be today if not for them?



Our chances in life define who we become - don't let the important ones just slip away.