Black MBA - Winter 2008/2009 - (Page 35)

internal bleeding, but Olympic rules wouldn’t allow it. In its place, he chose a steroid treatment that left him in intensive care for two weeks. He didn’t compete for two months while the steroids remained in his system and later passed a series of doping tests to maintain his Olympic eligibility. Once well, he went through the grueling process of retraining every ounce of muscle memory and endurance for competition. Another blow came when his mother, Liz, died of colon cancer a month after he was released from the hospital. His father, Thomas, succumbed to a heart attack in 2005. The pain and grief that he suffered put Olympic competition in perspective. His parents were gone. His body was battle-worn. Just being on the strip felt like a victory. “I’ve given it my all,” he recalls thinking. “Regardless of what happens, all of my friends and family support me.” What happened was the stuff of legend. Going from aggressive to defensive and back again in short order, he C A R E E R S AT T H E I R S overcame a nine-touch deficit to give the seventh-seeded U.S. team a 45-44 victory over No. 2-ranked Hungary. Next, he served up another upset in the medal round against Russia. The U.S. sabre team was down 40-35 when Smart faced off against five-time world champion, Stanislav Pozdnyakov. “I really felt like I had nothing to lose,” Smart says. “I just had to keep him guessing the entire time so he never could feel comfortable with what I was doing.” Smart outhit him 10-4 and clinched victory with a flying lunge that team captain Jeffrey Bukantz calls “the greatest touch in American fencing history.” Smart and his teammates had won the U.S. men’s sabre team’s first medal since Westbrook won bronze in individual competition in 1984. BACK TO SCHOOL Two days after winning silver in Beijing, Smart was back in New York gearing up for his first year in business school. The transition from spending 100 to 150 days on the road fencing in tournaments in locales as far-flung as Budapest and Las Vegas to logging long hours in Columbia's Watson Library was quick, but Smart was ready. He’d been balancing work and fencing for years. Unlike many of his competitors who fence professionally in Europe, Smart worked as a corporate finance analyst at Verizon Communications by day while training for elite fencing competitions at night. His time management skills and powers of concentration are unparalleled. Setting aside competitive fencing for graduate study was a logical next step for the son of two strong proponents of education. In one of their last conversations before his death, Thomas Smart encouraged his son to earn a graduate degree. The elder Smart, then an economist for the U.S. Department of Labor, was a lifelong learner who was always enrolled in one college course or another until the day he died. He turn to page 38 Martin came to the right place. Martin strives to balance work and his personal life. He also knows that there are two kinds of success — professional and personal. At the IRS, he finally found an employer that agrees. A career at the IRS is about more than just numbers. Here, we’re committed to giving our professionals the benefits and skills they need to excel – at work and at home. We figure that an important job should have important benefits. That’s why we offer flexible schedules, great insurance, continuous training, a diverse team of colleagues and job security. We also look for professionals with different backgrounds to fill positions like these: Revenue Agents work on-site with taxpayers, large corporations, small businesses, government entities, certified public accountants and attorneys to conduct tax examinations. Revenue Officers are involved in cases requiring tax research, interviews and investigations, analysis of financial statements and other important responsibilities. Criminal Investigation Special Agents protect the integrity of America’s tax system by following the movement of money to determine and provide proof of criminal activity. Be more than just a number at work. Learn more about an employer that cares about its people at www.jobs.irs.gov/print. Work-life balance. Amazing career choices. U.S. Citizenship Required | An Equal Opportunity Employer. www.jobs.irs.gov/print BlackMBA • Winter 2008/2009 35 http://www.irs.gov

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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

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