Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009 - (Page 34)

FEATURE Keeth Smart warmth and care that prompts dear friends and casual acquaintances alike to declare him the nicest guy you’ll ever meet. “It’s not just a pat on the back or handshake with him – he’ll send you a thank-you note,” says former teammate Herby Raynaud. “Especially in sports, most guys just kind of grunt and say, ‘I’ll buy you a beer.’ He goes the extra step to acknowledge people.” Whatever he lacked in talent, the future three-time Olympian easily made up for in sheer competitiveness and determination, working constantly to improve his footwork and composure. “He didn’t hit his stride until he got into college,” says his sister Erinn, who also won a medal in Beijing. “So I think not being a really strong fencer at a young age probably taught him a lot of patience taught him how to adjust his game and helped him develop into the fencer that he is now.” Indeed, as a student at New York's St. John’s University, the full extent of his athletic gifts and mental toughness came to the forefront. He won the NCAA title twice and qualified for the 2000 Sydney Olympics while still a student. In 2003, he became the first American sabre fencer to be ranked No. 1 in the world. The next year, he narrowly missed winning bronze medals in team and individual competitions at the 2004 Athens Olympics. In 2008, he came back with new determination. He tore a ligament in his left thumb in January, but refused to have the connective tissue repaired with surgery, which would have taken him out of competition. Instead, he fenced with his hand in a cast for the first two months of Olympic qualifications. “If it wasn’t meant to be, God would have broken my thumb,” Smart reasoned at the time. “Obviously, He wants me to keep going with this.” This is vintage Smart, the never-saydie attitude that is his greatest strength in competition. “No matter how bad you beat him down, he will jump up and try to kill you,” Westbrook says, injured or not. “Having been on teams with him, what he brought to the table more than anything else was his will to win and self-confidence,” Raynaud says. “It was off the charts.” Both expect Smart’s killer instinct and indefatigable work ethic to serve him well at Columbia and beyond. “I could easily see him as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company,” Raynaud says. Smart qualified for the Olympics April 1, 2008, at a tournament in Algeria. Four days later, elation vanished when he was admitted to a New York hospital. Fatigue that Smart thought was jet lag was the onset of a rare blood disorder, ITP. His platelet count had dropped to 3,000, a fraction of the normal 150,000300,000 range. Doctors were astounded that he’d been able to walk through the hospital doors. They said he might have just two days to live. Smart thought otherwise and once again made medical decisions with Beijing in mind. He needed a full blood transfusion to combat the relentless Climbers wanted. Where you come from is important but so is where you’re going. To us, diversity means more than ethnicity. It means developing, manufacturing and marketing life-enhancing medical technologies in several therapeutic fields. It means cultivating a workforce that spans a variety of cultures around the globe. And it means fostering the careers of talented individuals, whatever their background or avenue of interest. Take the next step in your career. Visit us at: www.crbard.com/careers Be your best at C. R. Bard, Inc. is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer 34 BlackMBA • Winter 2008/2009 • www.nbmbaa.org http://www.crbard.com http://www.nbmbaa.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009

Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009 Contents Preserving Dr. King’s Legacy: Harry E. Johnson is Six Years and $100 million into his First Fundraising Effort Online: www.nbmbaa.org and www.blackmbaonline.com Up Front: Inauguration Takes Over D.C. From the President: Connecting With the Basics The First 100 Days – Already in Progress Back to Basics: Finances 101 Is the Middle Class Disappearing? – Your View From Medals to MBA Conference Highlights Market Forces: The Job of Trying to Find a Job in a Tight Market Applying to an MBA Program?: Avoid Making these Five Critical Mistakes How They Did It: Catching up with the Winning Teams from NBMBAA’s 2008 National Case Competition Change It Up: If a New Job is at the Top of your New Year’s Resolutions, it’s Time for Careful Planning and Preparation Bull Market: Now is the Time to Take Advantage of Web 2.0 On the Move: Member News, Promotions and More Backstage at BET: NBMBAA’s Leadership Institute Takes on BET’s Case for Growth Toronto Rising: NBMBAA’s Toronto Chapter is on a Progressive Track, Building Strong Partnerships and Exposure as Membership Climbs NBMBAA® Chapters: Find Your Local Chapter Here Do What You Love: Turning Your Passion into a Successful Business Requires Patience, Planning and Plenty of Hard Work Above and Beyond: Meet the Winners of the 2008 Wells Fargo/NBMBAA Entrepreneurial Excellence Award Decorating by Design: Michelle Rider Leaves Corporate Life for Entrepreneurship Culture Shock: Black Museums Nationwide Appeal for Greater Support from the People whose Heritage they Strive to Preserve Gear Up for 2009: Books to Herald Success in the New Year Advertiser Index: Who’s Who in the Issue

Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.