THE ART OF THE POSSIBLE: From the HPU campus to the world's largest corporations, graduates gain life skills that help them thrive throughout their careers.

Don't be intimidated by life's obstacles.

That's a lesson Christine DiFerdinando McKnight learned during her time at High Point University. She took it with her when she graduated, and it's made all the difference.

At 22, McKnight not only launched her career, but she bought her first home, too.

When she was a student, she didn't yet have the words to articulate how much the university was preparing her. She was in the middle of HPU's transformational process then--majoring in nonprofit management, getting one-on-one guidance from faculty mentors who helped her grow, landing internships that offered field experience, learning on a campus committed to life skills and more.

But a light bulb went off after graduation, and she wrote a letter to HPU President Nido Qubein about her realization.

"Your students-first philosophy made me feel like everyone who makes HPU what it is was there to help me, to encourage me to succeed and to clear the way for me to shine! I worked as hard as I could, and the university was there when I needed a quiet spot to study, or my interview suit dry cleaned, or something on my stomach first thing in the morning. Even when I requested to graduate a year early, no one stood in my way.

"I had so much support at HPU that I graduated to face the real world with a new perspective. HPU gave me the positive outlook I needed to dream big dreams and achieve my goals without being intimidated by life's obstacles."

Her words inspired a campus landmark called the Dream Big Chairs. They stand 16-feet tall on top of the hill in Hayworth Park. Students and families climb them, spread their arms wide and take photos of themselves seemingly ready to embrace what life throws their way. Confident. Unafraid.

A plaque explaining the chairs' purpose includes excerpts from McKnight's letter, echoing an important reminder to students that they, like McKnight, are free to dream big.

At HPU, they come to embrace what Qubein calls the "Art of the Possible."

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Eight High Point University graduates who represent some of the world's biggest organizations returned to their alma mater in the spring and took the stage of the Hayworth Fine Arts Center.

Qubein interviews international leaders on this stage for HPU's"Access to Innovators Series." It airs on North Carolina public television, and it features prominent people like Condoleezza Rice and Gen. Colin Powell, both of whom formerly served as Secretary of State, as well as broadcast legend Tom Brokaw, Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, Netflix Co-Founder Marc Randolph and many others.

But on this day, the innovators Qubein interviewed were HPU's own graduates.

Jodi Guglielmi, '15, is a writer and reporter at People Magazine in New York. She interviews celebrities like George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio and works with the industry's top...