Hiroyuki Fujita Advises Monmouth College Students.

We attended the Whiteman Lecture this morning at Monmouth College. The speaker was Hiroyuki Fujita, a 1992 graduate of the college. 

After graduating from Monmouth Fujita went on to get a PhD in Physics from Case Western Reserve University.  Academia certainly called,  but business won out and he has since become the President and CEO of one of the fastest growing medical technology companies in the USA--Quality Electrodynamics.  

But it was not his vita that caught my eye as much as his speech. He spoke directly to the current student body and his message was clear.  Do not think that you go into business only to make money.  You also have to have a desire to make a difference.  You are not put here to do things to the world; you are here to do positive things for the world.  If you can put that into effect, you will also make enough money.

Asked how he measures his own background and how he looks at potential employees in his company he stated that everyone has ABILITY in something and needs to cultivate it.  Cultivation of that talent always requres EFFORT.  You score anywhere from 0 to 100 in the first two areas and find it wiped out if you do not have the right ATTITUDE because attitude can be scored from -100 to +100.   Bad attitudes impinge on effort and without effort ability can be squandered. 

Another idea he cited was "Always look at the doughnut, not the hole."  Be thankful for what you have. Don't spend valuable time whining or complaining about what you don't have; instead do something to fill the hole.

Simplistic. Sure.  But it seemed like practical advice coming from a foreign student who came to America and made the American Dream come true. . 

Although I never knew Hiro or his future wife when they were students, several of my fellow faculty members did and they were on hand to re-unite with him and to celebrate his accomplishments. All told an impressive day for the efficacy of a liberal arts eduction in providing knowledge and a moral compass to encircle it.    Thank you Hiroyuki.