A little determination goes a long way

by John Humpert

Two visitors sat in a sun-filled waiting room in a building swathed in ivy. It was the campus of a large university; the younger visitor barely knew the place. To get here at the appointed hour, they departed in the wee hours of the morning in early winter. All sane beings were still in deep sleep except this college junior and his professor. The trip lasted two hours plus time for a rest stop—plus an hour lost due to a time zone crossing.

He wanted in a special year-long program. His written application survived the first cut. His application was thorough and his approach had paid off. How many times had he pored over it to ensure it was in good order? Just that the address and postage on the envelope were correct, he probably checked four times. Even the send-out date was deliberate—don’t arrive too soon and not too late. Overkill? Maybe. There were no assurances, yet in his mind, there was only Plan A.

The program offered only a limited number of places. That concerned him. The selection committee probably already knew the other applicants because they were local. He had to assume there would be many applicants. It wasn’t difficult to see: the program had much to offer. He would need to convince the committee members quickly that he was just as easy to get to know as any of the others. And this was his professor’s alma mater; that sure didn’t hurt.

The two were the first in the room. Twenty minutes later, more entered. They walked a block or two from their dorms to get there. The visitor student eavesdropped on their banter to size up his competition. Wow, a pleasant shock, he thought. One sophomore forgot to sign his application. Another said she didn’t know much about the program, heard about it last week, and if she didn’t get in, well, Plan B would be just as much fun, no problem. Her friend laughed, saying she submitted just one letter of recommendation, not the three requested.

Days later, the visitor student got the news: he got a “conditional acceptance.” To get in, he would have to promise to attend and complete a summer program to prepare him sufficiently for the year-long program. Okay, he thought, that’s reasonable enough. Eight weeks to prepare for fifty weeks, why not?

It’s a funny thing about determination. Ninety percent of the time in this world, we get more or less what we want, whether our determination is really tested or not. The sophomore who didn’t care whether she got in or not: She got in.

They all got in, as far as I can recall. As for what each participant took from the program, as I look back, I think it’s fair to say that results were directly proportional to the input.

In technical communication and elsewhere in our lives, we have probably encountered situations in which sheer human determination made all the difference. If you’d like to share your story, e-mail me.