Summer Owens at the JCM class of 1997 25th anniversary class reunion
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25 Life Takeaways from My 25th Anniversary Class Reunion

Last weekend I attended my 25th anniversary class reunion. Even typing 25th anniversary doesn't seem like it could possibly apply to me.  It seems like it was just a couple of years ago that we got our green caps and gowns and excitedly walked…
Joshua Cobb
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Joshua Cobb: S.O. What! Success Story

Can you imagine one moment walking around doing your job and the next moment you don’t even have your legs? The unthinkable happened to Joshua Cobb only two weeks after he was standing in my living room.  Just as unbelievable as the…
Tim Ware
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Tim Ware: S.O. What! Success Story

Find your cheerleader. That was the closing advice given by the former athlete turned education leader, Tim Ware, in our interview. When we met over a decade ago, Tim Ware had started a school and today he leads another one just for young…
Bud Richey
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Bud Richey: S.O. What! Success Story

Bowties. Crawfish. And leadership. They are all things I immediately think of when I think of Bud Richey. As a student leader over 20 years ago, I met Bud Richey when he came to the University of Memphis to direct the Emerging Leaders…
Susanne Denton resilience example
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Supporting the Strong. How I Returned the Favor to a Friend.

This is Susanne. Super Strong Susanne. There is a small group of people who I credit with helping me to graduate from high school, supporting the strong girl I was, and becoming the woman and professional I am. Susanne is in that…
Annette Webb McNeil
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Annette McNeil: S.O. What! Success Story

It’s never too late to get your degree(s). That’s one of the first thoughts I have when I think of Annette McNeil. Another is how she too was a 15-year-old mom. A third is our connection to the Fogelman College of Business and Economics…
Barbara Teicher
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Barbara Teicher: S.O. What! Success Story

There’s not much that really shocks me. But learning of the bicycle accident of my friend (Barbara Teicher) while she was in France certainly did. I had last seen her at the National Speakers Association’s annual conference. We laughed…
John Best
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John Best: S.O. What! Success Story

Have you ever met a giant? During my time working for the NBA, I did meet a few men who seemed like giants to me.  When I met John Best I definitely noticed his stature but I wasn’t shocked. I wasn’t shocked to learn that John…
Rosie Phillips Davis
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Dr. Rosie Phillips Davis: S.O. What! Success Story

Dr. Rosie Phillips Davis went from poverty to a Ph.D. and has inspired thousands of people along the way. As a nineteen-year-old black female college student, I’ll never forget the day I saw Dr. Rosie Phillips Davis (known to me as Dr.…