One day when Gina was in third grade at her Catholic grammar school, some children were pulled out of the classroom and taken to a much nicer room with beautiful windows and potted flowers. This new and improved room had been designed for the gifted students in the class, and Gina waited for her name to be called. It never was. One of the nuns explained to Gina’s hardworking single mother that although she was a sweet child, academically she was just average. Gina’s mom, whose high hopes for her extraordinary child had just been dashed, told Gina that she would just have to try harder. So – trying harder – and getting attention for the abilities she knew she possessed, became Gina’s challenge, as well as the theme of her educational and professional experiences, for years to come. Failure Makes You Who You Are
