With the sale of Families.com earlier this year, and with Dave Larson joining the Adoption Media team as Chief Operations Officer, I was in a position for the first time in 10 years that I could go back to school and finish my degree.

I had 23 credits left to finish. So, in May I moved up to Utah and have been attending the first of two summer semesters at BYU. In about 10 days, I will only have 15 credits left. Then, I will take another 9 credits in the second summer semester.

It has been very hard to live away from my wife and daughters and I miss them more than you imagine. I am awed by the sacrifice my wife is making for me to be able to do this, and am incredibly grateful for how supportive she has been throughout our marriage.

The question I have been asked most frequently is “Why?” Why would I go back to school after 10 years? The most common answer that I give is that I am ready to take my career and my companies to the next level. I believe that corporate culture is a reflection of top management. When organizations have consistently poor customer service or salesmen regularly lie to their customers, these organizations often have top management who lack ethical leadership, and that void in character trickles its’ way down throughout the company. I believe that if I can elevate my performance, I can raise the performance throughout my companies and the new companies I hope to create.

Recently a reporter from the Provo Daily Herald wrote a story about the value of a college education. This reporter interviewed Steve Gibson, one of the professors in the BYU business school. I am volunteering this summer as an “Entrepreneur in Residence” for Steve’s “Entrepreneurship Skills for Non-Business Majors” course. I have been thoroughly enjoying mentoring student groups as they have gone through the process of creating and running their own companies. So, Steve referred the reporter to me. I will include the story she published below to help answer this question about the value of a college education:

What a college education is really worth
BRITTANI LUSK – Daily Herald
Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Just 23 credits short of a bachelor’s degree, CEO Nathan Gwilliam left BYU because his Internet company was growing so fast he didn’t have time to do both. Gwilliam wrote a business plan for a company called Adoption.com while at BYU. That was 10 years ago. Now the business, called Adoption Media, is the largest adoption organization in the world.College is expensive, and if Gwilliam didn’t need it to start his company, is a bachelor’s degree even worth the cost?The answer, experts say, is yes — and even Gwilliam would agree.

A college education in Utah County can cost more than $3,000 a year — $4,500 or so after books and fees.

Students often pay for those costs for a long time. The average college student in 2000 graduated with $16,928 in student loan debt, according to the U.S. Public Research Interest Group.

Even with all that, education still pays, said John Mathews, an economist for the Utah Department of Workforce Services.

” ‘The more you learn, the more you earn’ is still very true,” Mathews said.

On average, college graduates make almost double the income of those who only have a high school diploma. The average high school graduate made $21,079 in 2006, according to census figures, while those with bachelor’s degrees averaged $40,166.

Certain professions are harder to get into for those without higher education. For example, the Census Bureau reported in 2006 that 46 percent of adults with managerial jobs had bachelor’s degrees and 71 percent of those in professional occupations had at least a bachelor’s degree. Only 8 percent of those in craft, service, farm or production occupations had that much education.

Those salaries can become a reality for today’s graduates because jobs are plentiful.

Mathews said graduates are entering a good job market.

“Utah’s labor market is on fire,” he said.

The unemployment rate in Utah is about 2 percent. The national rate is around 4 percent. Rates that low are good for those seeking jobs because employers are competing for graduates, Mathews said. Education is an added bonus.

Graduating Utah Valley State College students filled out a survey when they left. Of the 35 percent filling out the survey last year, 69 percent reported that they were employed.

UVSC spokeswoman Megan Laurie said those numbers don’t include students who became employed shortly after graduation or were sending out resumés when the survey was taken.

Education is worth more than just a fatter paycheck. The Utah System of Higher Education reported that education leads to a better quality of life.

USHE spokeswoman Amanda Covington said that higher levels of education correspond with more civic involvement, more volunteering and more voter participation.

College graduates are more than twice as likely to have health insurance and pension benefits, according to the College Board’s Education Pays 2005 report. The College Board also reported that unemployment rates are lower for those with more education.

There’s more to earning money than simply getting an education, however.

Jay Irvine, placement coordinator for BYU’s Marriott School of Management, said there are many skills that lead to success, including education.

“A good college education is going to prepare you as well as anything,” he said.

After that he listed common sense, resourcefulness, luck, hard work, creativity and management skills.

Stephen Gibson, faculty member of the Marriot School of Management, listed what he described as a “locus of control” — that is, good entrepreneurs believe they are in charge.

“They believe that they control their own destiny,” Gibson said.

Successful people also delay gratification, Gibson said. When the business does well, they put the money back into the business rather than spending it. They also have good people skills and embrace change.

Gwilliam, the CEO who left BYU, said there were many things he never learned at school, including being able to learn from his failures.

“The people who are most successful aren’t people who haven’t failed,” Gwilliam said. “They can learn from their mistakes.”

Gwilliam owns several companies. In 1999, after he had taken his company Today.com public, he lost it. He was 24 years old at the time.

“I lost over $11 million in one day,” he said. “That was a really bad day.”

But he’s also had successes and says still needs an education to build his credibility and make an impact. He is back in Provo for the summer to finish his bachelor’s degree in general studies with an emphasis in business management. After he graduates, he plans to apply to the Harvard Business School.

“I want to do something on a much higher level. To do that, I need to get my MBA,” Gwilliam said.

Brittani Lusk can be reached at 344-2549 or at blusk@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.

I was recently looking at the application for a top-tier MBA program, and one of their essay questions from last year asked, “In your career, you will have to deal with many ethical issues. What are likely to be the most challenging and what is your plan for developing the competencies you will need to handle these issues effectively?”

I believe the most challenging ethical issue that I face is that of social inequality. I live in a world of opportunity and luxury compared to 95% of the world. Note the following sobering statistics:

• By end-2003, there were an estimated 143 million orphans ages 0-17 in 93 developing countries. More than 16 million children were orphaned in 2003 alone (UNICEF).
• HIV/AIDS orphans more than 6,000 children every day.
• An estimated 218 million children aged 5-17 are engaged in child labor, excluding child domestic labor (UNICEF).
• At least one million deaths occur every year due to malaria, a treatable disease (CDC).
• A reported 1.2 million children are trafficked annually for child labor purposes and sexual exploitation (UNICEF).
• One billion people in the world today live in extreme poverty, surviving on $1 a day or less (Gates Foundation).
• Some 250,000 children are forced into armed conflict (UNICEF).
• Approximately 2 million children, most of them girls, are enslaved in the global commercial sex trade (UNICEF).
• 1.1 billion people lack clean water worldwide (Worldvision).

These statistics do not include the absence many other luxuries we take for granted, such as the opportunity for education, plentiful employment, good medical care, and political and religious freedoms. These are simply luxuries that much of the world does not enjoy.

I lived for two years in a third world country. I remember the first time I went hungry, with no food or money to buy food, and the accompanying sense of hopelessness. I know that one night of hunger is trite compared to the plight of millions around the world who regularly go to bed hungry. However, that night helped me to understand, even in a small way, the hopelessness that millions children and families around the world face every day. How would it feel to have my children die because I could not afford a $1.50 vaccine for malaria? How would it feel to have to give my thirsty children a glass of water I knew was filled with bacteria and human feces? How would it feel to have my children go to bed hungry because I could not earn enough money to provide food? How would I feel if my children could not get an education, and I knew they were doomed to repeat the vicious cycle of poverty?

The greatest issue that we face as those who have been blessed financially is to not look at those material goods as our possessions, and instead to look at them as spiritual stewardships. We have been blessed with abundance for a reason, and it is our responsibility to find what He wants us to do with those resources.

Although the global social crisis may seem bleak, we live in a world of abundance. There is plenty of food, clean water, clothing, medicine and education, or at least enough money to create it. The only question is whether those of us who have are willing to share our blessings with those who do not.

Bill Gates is the richest man on the planet (Forbes). He has contributed billions to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation’s fortune has increased to $33 billion and is responsible for many charitable works around the globe — from a $100 million HIV/AIDS initiative in Botswana to a $1.5 billion commitment to distribute vaccines to children in developing countries.

I sat in a meeting last year with senior officials from the Mozambique child welfare system. They explained how diseases such as AIDS/HIV and malaria were decimating their population and that within just a few years they estimated that 10% of the entire population of their country would be orphans. They then explained the amazing work that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is doing in treating malaria in Mozambique and the hope that is providing.

Say what you want about Bill Gates, but where the rubber meets the road, he is making a greater difference in the lives of widows and orphans than anyone on the planet. Not only is he giving his money, but he is giving his time. In July 2008, he is stepping away from Microsoft to run his foundation full time. I know I’m not Bill Gates’ judge, and I know there are other factors which will be used to determine salvation in addition to good works. However, I can’t think of a better example of what the prophet James taught, that pure religion requires serving others, especially the widows and orphans.

At that time Nacy Pelosi was making headlines for her diplomatic visit to Syria against the wishes of President Bush. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino had said about Syria, that “This is a county that is a state sponsor of terror, one that is trying to disrupt the Senora government in Lebanon and one that is allowing foreign fighters to flow into Iraq from its borders. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad “probably really wants people to come, and have a photo opportunity, and have tea with him, and have discussions about where they’re coming from. But we just think it’s a really bad idea.”

So, very early in my conversation with my new colleague I brought up this situation, and I explained that I disagree with the position of President Bush. I believe in the old maxim that we should keep our friends close and our enemies closer. I explained that if President Bush does not agree with Syria, that eliminating communication isn’t going to solve the problem. If we want to influence foreign governments, we have to start by building friendships. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and President Bush should be vacationing together. They should try to find the elements where they do agree, such as humanitarian aid projects, and focus on how they can work together on those projects. Then, after a friendship has been built, there will be a much greater opportunity for those organizations to work together to solve more complicated issues. When we focus on differences walls are built, and the opportunity to positively influence is greatly diminished.

I know that it is not the role of a congresswoman to be an ambassador for the United States to foreign countries. That aside, instead of criticizing Nanci Pelosi, the Bush administration should have been focusing on improving their relationship with Syria. I was very encouraged to see last month that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with her Syrian counterpart in the first high-level diplomatic contact between Washington and Damascus in more than two years.

No two governments and no two people are going to agree on all of the issues all of the time. The Bush administration regularly disagrees with each of its’ major allies about a variety of issues. If both of us think and act exactly the same, one of us is redundant. So, the difference between whether a country is an ally or an enemy is not whether we agree with them or not. Instead, it is whether or not we are willing to focus on the issues where we agree and work together on those issues.

I explained to my dinner guest that night, that this same concept is true in the adoption community and in other relationships in our life. None of the adoption organizations and no two people are going to agree with each other on all issues all of the time. Instead of focusing on the very small percentage of issues where we disagree, we need to focus on working together on the 95% of the issues where we do agree. Then, once we have a friendship, there is a much greater likelihood that we will be able to work together to resolve the issues where we disagree. Or, if not, the worst-case scenario is that we will be able to synergistically work together to make a difference on the 95% of the issues where we agree.