In 1990 my father asked me what I hoped to achieve in my senior swimming season, my response was to have my name on the GBN record board as the fastest 100 yard breast-stroke. At the time, this was a lofty goal requiring me to drop 6 seconds in a race just over a minute. My senior year in the fall season, I broke the decade old record and would maintain this place for another decade to come. My father's insight to tapping into my competitive drive helped me find f a formula for life which worked. I would push myself beyond what I and many others thought possible as a professional and an athelete. I set the following goals in mind for the future post my lackluster college days: to obtain a masters in a firm in Chicago and to be able to converse in a foreign language. Nearing forty I am married to a German and am able to speak with his family regularly, I graduated from University of Michigan's M.Arch program and I have worked for some the best firms in Chicago including my present employer JAHN(previously Murphy/Jahn Architects). My husband and I live in the Middle East working as Architects. The lessons I learned at GBN still resonante with me today. I will continue to set lofty goals; my 2013 ones include: completing a 120km endurance race through the desert via horseback, to finish my licensure with the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and to start (someday) an Arabian horsefarm in Germany. I hope to inspire future generations to set their goals high!