Ever watch those interviews with Olympic athletes who give you a glimpse into who they really are? They remind us of what a hero really is. It's the person behind the headlines, the one who has shown us that their drive, determination and hard work has allowed them to expend their talents. It's the person who inspires others to be the best they can be.
So who should we be celebrating as the heroes of our own institutions? If you're thinking students and researchers, you've got it backwards. It's our supporters.
Too often we take our story out to the community and market our product- that being our students and our faculty. All well and good, but to inspire someone to support us, we need to tell their story, not ours. They are the hero - someone who makes a real difference. They are the ones who are doing life-changing work by enabling and inspiring us. Therefore, our message should be: we make the work of our supporters possible, not vice-versa.
Let's make our supporters central to our story as the heroes in the change we are seeking to make.
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