Byron Pitts' Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life's Challenges
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To help new students make a successful transition to college-level study, Medaille College has selected and purchased Byron Pitts' memoir, Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life's Challenges, for all freshmen to read prior to the Fall 2011 semester. The key to success at Medaille is being an active, engaged learner. Step Out on Nothing has been chosen to help you begin to engage actively with important ideas and to inspire you as you embark on your college career.

In his book, Pitts reflects on his many challenges and contemplates the ways in which key people reached out to make a difference in his life. Throughout his expert narrative, Pitts considers the ways in which family, education, community, and faith all contributed to his success. He also reflects on his own inner drive and innate abilities, and invites the reader to think about how the combination of community support and individual determination can propel a person to overcome seemingly insurmountable hardships. Evoking courage, humor and sometimes sadness, Pitts asks us to think critically about our own stories and the characters involved, so that we, too, can write a future that more fully realizes our potential.

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