WhenIenteredBerkeley,Ihopedtoearnascholarship.HavingbeenaStraight-Astudent,IbelievedIcouldtaketoughsubjectsandreallylearnsomething.OnesuchcoursewasWorldLiteraturegivenbyProfessorJayne.Iwasextremelyinterestedintheideashepresentedinclass.WhenItookthefirstexam,Iwasshockedtofinda77,C-plus,onmytestpaper,forEnglishwasmybestsubject.IwenttoProfessorJayne,wholistenedtomyargumentsbutremainedunmoved.Idecidedtotryharder,althoughIdidn’tknowwhatthatmeantbecauseschoolhadalwaysbeeneasyforme.Ireadthebooksmorecarefully,butgotanother77.Again,IreasonedwithProfessorJayne.Again,helistenedpatientlybutwouldn’tchangehismind.Onemoretestbeforethefinalexam.Onemorechancetoimprovemygrade.SoIredoubledmyeffortsand,forthefirsttimelearnedThemeaningoftheword“thorough”.Butmyeffortdidnogoodandeverythingwentasbefore.Thelasthurdlewasthefinal.NomatterwhatgradeIgot,itwouldn’tcancelthreeC-pluses.Imightaswellkissthescholarshipgoodbye.Istoppedworkinghead.IfeltIknewthecoursematerialaswellasIeverwould.Thenightbeforethefinal,Ieventrestedmyselftoamovie.ThenextdayIdecidedforonceI’dhavefunwithatest.Aweeklater,IwassurprisedtofindIgotanA.IhurriedintoprofessorJayne’soffice.Heseemedtobeexpectingme.“IfIgaveyoutheAsyouexpected,youwouldn’tcontinuetoworkashard.”Istaredathim.realizingThathisanalysisandstrategywerecorrect.Ihadworkedmyheadoff,asIhadneverdonebefore.Iwasspeechlesswhenmycoursegradearrived:A-plus.ItwastheonlyA-plusgiven.ThenextyearIreceivedmyscholarship.I’vealwaysrememberedProfessorJayne’slesson:youalonemustsetyourownstandardofexcellence.