[PIANO PLAYING]
Piano playing is like systems engineering.
The way you systematically approach your song,
you learn it in pieces.
Same as systems engineering, you look at a problem holistically.
How can I tackled this best to make it most efficient?
Well I graduated in 2009.
I was number eight in my high school class.
So I came here, and I wasn't doing well in my classes.
I didn't know how to study, how to learn effectively.
Then I got a phone call, and my father was sick.
And I was like, OK, he's sick, he's in the hospital,
it happens.
And then I got another phone call saying
that he might not make it.
And he didn't make it.
He passed on my way home.
I decided to come back, and I tried really hard.
And I tried to find a way to belong,
and cope with that loss.
So I walked onto the track team, tried out, made it.
Second year, me and track really didn't work out.
So I walked onto the football team.
Fall of my third year, in October, I tore my ACL
and meniscus.
So I was like, what do I do now?
I have to make a decision.
Do I put all this extra time, and get my leg better,
and be an athlete, and chase my dream of going pro?
Or do I focus on my academics?
And I felt like focusing on my academics
would help me to be a better son, a better brother, to help
take care of my family.
I decided to focus on internships,
preparing for my professional career.
I had to really look deep, really
reflect on what makes me me, my value as a person.
And my answer was my character.
When I think about honor, I think about someone
who gives to others.
That's what being human is about.
The biggest lesson that I learned here
was how to struggle, not necessarily that I'm
like so much smarter.
I did learn how to study, and learn how to learn.
But I learned how to overcome.