As I sit here, tired, drinking a Red Bull so I can finish this change proposal for the last class, in the last semester, of my Masters program all I can say is thank you Mr. President. It was President Obama who urged us back in 2009 to go back to school.  Acquire some 21st century skills he said, because the economy would never go back to the kind of economy it was before the recession/depression.

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He was right. In 2010 I started this journey with a GED. It took leadership to inspire me to do something different. That is what leaders do. I teach leadership, design programs to help leaders develop, and have experienced all kinds of leaders. President Obama and Our First Lady Michelle, whom he calls his best friend, have shown us what all the leadership theory, all the books, all the assessments, all the pontification looks like. Thank you Mr. President. You and your amazing wife have shown us what integrity, character, inspiration, brilliance, strategic thinking, leading change, self awareness, self management, social awareness, and relationship management look like! The leadership behaviors you have exhibited over the last 8 years are the model that will be referenced, studied, and dissected long after you are gone. What a legacy! Thank you for inspiring me, thank you and Michelle for showing us what it looks like to always take the high road. To stand with courage, confidence, humility, and humor, anchored in the knowledge that you loved this nation and had faith in who we could become no matter what was swirling around you. May God bless you and your amazing family as you start the next chapter.