The #1 engineering college In the United States(RHIT) is 5 minutes away from my home. Fortunately, for we townies, they offer us an opportunity to swim in their magnificent pool on weekday mornings. There, I can see firsthand why a student’s attitude leads to success.
One lifeguard is extremely friendly, helpful, and conscientious. I knew she was probably a student with a part time job, but the other day, I witnessed her on the diving board doing some amazing backward flips. This girl is a real star, but you would never know it from the humility with which she conducts herself. You don’t get into that school unless you’re extremely bright, but she’s also talented. Obviously, it could be a bit boring for such an outstanding student to lifeguard a bunch of local ladies, but she’s caring and enthusiastic. I know that this student’s winning attitude will lead to success.
Conversely, I remembered a student interning with me when I was a hospital department manager. This girl was a real beauty: blonde hair, perfect figure, pretty face. Unfortunately, she had little enthusiasm. She walked into the department as if she’d just gotten out of bed, yawning frequently, showing little interest in the patients she worked with. It made me wonder why she had chosen to work in the field at all, but I suppose it seemed like something that would pay well and not require a whole lot of effort.
In her defense, maybe she had some emotional problems. But even if that were the case, she should have known that in the workplace, you may have smile even if you don’t feel like it.
Remember the song , “big girls don’t cry.” When you’re an adult, sometimes you have to fake it, and pretend you’re happy even if you’re not. I don’t know what happened to this student after college, and never heard from her again. Obviously, she didn’t make a name for herself.
If these two girls had entered the same beauty contest, The beautiful blonde intern would probably have won. But you can’t get by on just your looks in the real world. A good attitude and hard work will take you much further in the long run.