World-class hurdler Landria Buckley, MBA ’15, trained fearlessly for the Rio Olympics. She packed up her life, moved to Arizona and started hurdling, lifting and sprinting six days a week at an elite training center in the desert. “You have to get into game mode like you’re going to war,” she said before the U.S. Olympic Team Trials July 1-10, 2016, in Eugene, Ore. “Then just run as if it’s the last race of your life.”

6 Tactics for Building Win-Win Partnerships - Wendy R. Sanhai, EMBA ’09 Nanoscience, the study of very small particles, has great potential to improve health care. These tiny molecules can be incorporated into many therapies, such as cancer drugs, which may result in the need for smaller doses for patients, and may decrease negative side effects due to less exposure of toxic chemicals to normal tissue.

Former Terrapin golfer George Bradford, a 1997 graduate of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, had a quick response when people told him to “get a job” after college. “I have a job,” he told the skeptics. “I’m a professional golfer.” Bradford persevered in various mini tours across North America and achieved a milestone in 2004.

Armed with a childhood of sewing skills and an internship at a custom clothier, Brittany McCoy ’16 set a lofty goal during her freshman year at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business: She would launch her own fashion line and feature it at DC Fashion Week.

Oscar “Santana” Zeballos, EMBA ’16, was a successful talk show host, but a 2009 format change left him at a crossroads in his broadcasting career. So Zeballos co-founded Washington, D.C.-based MORE Broadcasting to independently distribute and produce radio and podcast content.

It was 4 a.m., but Chuck Millison, OMBA ’15, was awake, attending class with his MBA cohorts at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. They were stateside, while Millison was in Qatar. Sometimes he was in Afghanistan or Jordan or Kuwait, but he stayed connected to his studies, thanks to the Smith Online MBA Program.

70s Steven Calvery ’73 has retired as director of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. He led the agency for over a decade and is the longest serving director in agency history. Roger Goldman ’74 joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group. Rick Harcum ’79 was named budget director of Frederick County, Md. Stephen Heise, MBA ’76 works as vice president of human resources at Maryland Live Casino.

Fearless leaders act when others hesitate. But the resolve to make tough choices doesn’t come in the moment of crisis. Fearless leaders set their values beforehand during periods of quiet reflection, and then align their behavior to their beliefs.

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This story was originally published on Oct. 28, 2014. In collaboration with University Archives, we present this spooky story on 14 allegedly haunted places at the University of Maryland. After reading through this creepy collection, we know you will want to find out more. Here’s the UMD Ghost Tour – a map and walking guide – created by UMD’s Facilities Management: maps.umd.edu/tours/ghost.