The most significant strategy that I ever used for success came about as a result of being face-to-face with

failure. While this strategy was not something I would have choose for myself, it is something that I can now say was very, very useful and beneficial. I attended high school in a small Southern town. I was involved in most every school activity and graduated in the top 10% of my class. In the fall of 1972 I found myself at the university, being fortunate enough to have received a conditional scholarship. My parents understood little about higher education. No one in my family had ever graduated from college. They were supportive of my desire for additional education (although my father sometimes questioned why a girl would need any college), yet they had neither the financial resources nor the emotional support needed for me to be successful. Conditions of my scholarship required me to maintain a 2.75 GPA at all times and have no grades of D or F. If either of these events occurred I could be suspended from my scholarship or faced with forfeiture. Suspension meant I would not receive any scholarship money for the next semester. Forfeiture meant loosing the scholarship completely. Either meant I would be out of school and on my way to working in a lowpaying dead-end job. In addition, any grade of D or F also required me to re-pay the amount of the tuition and fees which had been paid on my behalf for the class in question. Having breezed my way through high school I was not well prepared for the highly challenging coursework at the college level. In addition, the new found freedoms of being a co-ed provided me with far too many opportunities to blow off my studies for the more pleasing social events, which were abundant in a college town. All of these facts lead me to a point where I thought there may be no opportunity for success. When I received my mid-semester grade report in October of that year I was below the D/F threshold in four of six courses and had a projected GPA of 1.8. Feeling desperate and ready to quit I went to visit with Dr. Russell, my biology instructor, who happened to also be my academic advisor. Seeing my level of desperation, Dr. Russell quickly suggested that I make contact with Terry Todd, an older graduate student who provided tutoring services. He said that Mr. Todds students many times showed great progress in a short period of time and that Mr. Todd offered programs to fit my needs. Knowing I was reluctant and lacked the resources necessary to pay for any tutoring, Dr. Russell promised to help me secure a tutoring bonus, which could be added to my financial aid package if needed. My first meeting with Terry was directed entirely toward tutoring of biology. A week later I met with him for a second time. This session provided tutoring support for three courses. At the end of the allotted time Terry spent several minutes encouraging me and ensuring me that I had the talents needed to be successful in college, something I had questioned about myself. He also told me that he felt that I would benefit strongly from participation in his BAM program. He explained that BAM was an acronym for Behavioral Academic Management but offered few other details, just telling me that we would discuss it at our next meeting. As promised, the next week the BAM program was explained to me. I learned that through the BAM program the tutoring sessions could be continued and combined with parental type controls and consequences. It was suggested that we would mutually establish academic goals and that my social behavior and limitations would be determined by the level at which I was meeting these goals. Consequences could include

restriction and/or corporal punishment. Terry sited several examples of success with other clients and told me to consider it all. Prior to our next scheduled tutoring session I took the time to meet with my trusted advisor, Dr. Russell. I now had a much better understanding of what he meant when he told me about the programs Mr. Todd could design to meet my needs. We briefly discussed my entire situation. Dr. Russell made me an offer I could hardly refuse, a promise to drop my lowest grade and allow me to retake a test I had previously failed if I would agree to try the BAM program for the rest of the semester. Even though it seemed quite unorthodox, I was convinced to commit to this self improvement process for the remainder of the term. At our next meeting Terry took time to question me about behavioral management which had been successful with me in the past. We discussed my goals academically, which at that time mostly included only the requirements of the scholarship program. We also discussed in detail my social behavior and what was acceptable, desirable and what could interfere with my academic progress. I supplied Terry with copies of the syllabus for each course I was enrolled in at the time. Each major assignment as well as my attendance was to be monitored. Although somewhat apprehensive, I felt a challenge had been set and I felt encouraged that I wasnt fighting a loosing battle alone. It only took being restricted to my room a couple of weekends, a time or two of sitting in class on a sore behind and a few hours of reflection while leaning against a wall with my hands high over my head before I found that my entire approach to my education and self-improvement had been refocused. I quickly learned the value of this type of close monitoring. My GPA for that semester was 3.06 and my lowest grade was one C! Feeling a sense of personal accomplishment and pride, I choose to continue the BAM program over the next 4+ years. There were a few times which I faced negative consequences, but I was also able to gradually raise the bar for my personal goals and expectations. During my senior year I even choose to add a commitment to an exercise and training program to my BAM. Today I am a happy, well adjusted professional. I can attribute my entire career success as a medical bio-technician to the goals and strict guidelines that I laid out for myself and the re-enforcement, both positive and negative, that BAM provided for me. I continue to set my own personal goals, and while as an adult I have learned self-management, there are times I wonder if a form of BAM might still provide me with an additional source of encouragement from time to time. I am still a regular at my local Golds Gym! I am sure this response has been much longer than was intended and may require editing if included at all, however I feel strongly about this experience. While it may not be the answer for everyone, possibly someone can gain an idea from my experience which will help them to be more successful in life.