Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: News

Spanos Theatre filled up with a variety of Poly students and community members, as well as the women's basketball team and members of the track, golf and swimming teams on Thursday afternoon, all to see world-renowned basketball star, businesswoman and motivational speaker Jennifer Azzi

Azzi spoke about "the competitive edge" as part of the College of Business' Professional Development Speaker Series.

World-renowned basketball star, businesswoman and motivational speaker Jennifer Azzi spoke Thursday about "the competitive edge" in Spanos Theatre as part of the College of Business' Professional Development Speaker Series.

To begin her speech, Azzi asked the crowd: "The leadership edge; what does that mean to you?"

She then asked people to raise their hand if they thought they were leaders. When she heard crickets instead of swift movements from the crowd, she retorted, "Everybody raise your hand really high, because you're all leaders."

Azzi said that if anyone has anything positive to bring to any situation, then they are leading.

The next question posed to the crowd was "What did you want to be when you grow up?"

Several ideas bounced around the auditorium.

"Astronaut," came from the back.

"Doctor," from the left.

"Manicurist," from the front.

"I wanted to be the president," said Sparkle Anderson, point guard for the women's basketball team.

"That is great. Are you still interested in doing that?" Azzi said in all seriousness.

She then went on to explain that when she was five, she was set on being a forest ranger. But during career day in elementary school, while all her classmates and parents were watching, she said she wanted to be a nurse.

After the presentation, her mother asked her when she changed her mind. She said to her mother, "You and I both know that girls can't be forest rangers."

Her mother stopped her and said, "I don't want to ever hear you say anything like that again. You can do and become anything that is in your heart."

To this day, Azzi said that statement was the greatest gift in her life: knowing the power of what's inside, and the fact that she could be what she wanted to be and not what others wanted.

Azzi moved on from forestry and decided she wanted "to be a really good basketball player." Yet she realized this was a strange concept as a girl growing up in the '70s.

Along with playing basketball, she aspired to be an Olympian. In Azzi's case, her dreams were not unattainable and she came to a realization about success.

Continued...

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