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One of the perks of the Gregorian Fellows program is the opportunity it provides students to meet with local leaders. On Monday, Michael Haverty was the speaker of the week. Now retired, Haverty was the 17th CEO of the Kansas City Southern Railway, the president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, and the first member of his family to graduate from college. In his talk, Haverty discussed success and leadership qualities with students. Here are our top quotes:
1. “Be proud of where you’re from and of your family, no matter how big you get.”
2. “One of the things that makes America great is that people have the opportunity to work up from the bottom. We need to protect that American ability.”
3. “Are leaders born, or are they made? I believe it’s a combination of both – if you don’t have those leadership capabilities bred in you, it doesn’t matter what training you have.”
4. “One thing I do want to emphasize to you: You do have to work hard to succeed.”
5. “You need to focus. You need to know what you want to do, and then you need to focus on achieving it.”
6. “A leader needs to be able to take a risk. To succeed, a leader can’t be afraid to try things. And you 
need to understand that there’s a risk of failure.”
7. “You need to be vigilant. Patrick Henry said, ‘Constant vigilance is the cost of freedom.’ I have used that many times.”
8. “It is better to be respected than popular.”
9. “Apply logic to what you want to do. Logic and common sense show you things that other people don’t see.”
10. “Calvin Coolidge said, ‘Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.’”
11. “Young people want to change the world. Keep that vision of changing the world.”
12. “Always believe in God.”
The Gregorian Institute is Benedictine College’s initiative to promote Catholic identity in public life by equipping leaders (the Gregorian speech digest), training leaders (the Gregorian Fellows), defending the faith (the Memorare Army for Religious Freedom), and celebrating Catholic identity (the Catholic Hall of Fame).
