My back door opened and Marcella climbed into the back seat, I couldn’t help but notice she was panting, out of breath.  I am late for my speech can you help?  Marcella was a beautiful young woman from Brazil… her thick, flowing black hair went just past her shoulders.  Marcella as it turns out was the current valedictorian for the Harvard Business School.  She asked if I minded if she practiced her speech and read it out loud?  Of course I was totally supportive, and so she started reading her speech.

Marcella talked about her husband Pedro, who was also a student getting his Harvard Business MBA, but she explained that after a short time after starting his MBA program he was diagnosed with stomach cancer.  Pedro passed away 4 months later and the college gave him his degree before he died.  What impressed me the most was all Marcella could talk about in her speech was the gratitude she had for all the support she received from fellow students and professors.  She talked how time is so precious and one never knows what lies ahead and how we all need to move forward and make great use of our degrees to help change the world, to do great things… while we have the time.

Yes, I was the one driving, but she drove me to tears.  Gratitude is that powerful!