Assistant Editor's Log The Defining Moment By Auburn Mann There comes a time in every individual’s life that they come across some pivotal situation. A situation that is so impactful that regardless of what good or bad they’ve committed this moment is what could potentially define their very being. Just as in our academic semester where there are various reading assignments, projects and tests, however more often than not the final exam is the exam which carries the most weight towards your transcript grade. This make or break concept is present in the lives and circumstances of many. Some prominent examples include: · Thurgood Marshall. Despite working on the landmark Brown vs. Board of Education case, working in the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and being appointed to and serving as the 32nd Solicitor General . He’s probably most recognized for becoming the First African American to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967. · Jesse Owens, the now legendary track & field competitor who had achieved many athletic feats prior to his 1936 triumph. However, his Olympic campaign in Nazi Germany, while simultaneously winning four gold medals in the 100 meters, 200 meters 4x100 meter relay and long jump and disproving Hitler’s racist theory of Aryan Supremacy, was his defining moment. · Alex Haley, the first African American to reach the position Chief Petty officer in the Coast Guard, had a print journalism career for more than 20 years with work in Readers Digest, and Playboy magazine and as the author of the "Autobiography of Malcolm X," is most remembered for popularizing genealogy and the long lost African heritage of black Americans in his masterpiece "Roots : The Saga of an American family" as he documenting the gist of the African-American story in America through the perspective of his family. · Barack Obama although he was elected as the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review, authored two bestselling books, represented Illinois 13th district in the state senate, and being elected and representing Illinois in the U.S. Senate for four years after delivering the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention he is and will most likely be primarily associated with being first African-American president of the United States. · Jesus Christ did many miraculous things from offering unprecedented wisdom and perspective, healing the ill, feeding the hungry, changing water into wine, controlling nature, even living an all around flawless life. Nevertheless, all of this would have meant nearly nothing if he had not fulfilled his mission of being crucified for humanity and then arising from the grave after three days and satisfying his purpose and our salvation. He is so widely cherished and renowned for his ultimate purpose that night on Calvary which set him apart from every other prophet, rabbi, and righteous man or woman in history. By no means am I attempting to devalue the accomplishments and experiences that precede the climax, in fact, they possess just as much value indirectly, due to their contribution to the big occasion. Early accomplishments are the rising action that ushered these men into the position they needed to be in to realize their climaxes, enabling the moments that defined their legacies here on earth to come to pass. Like these great transformational figures, how we perform on the lesser tests throughout the semester act as a rehearsal for the final exam or final assignment. The cumulative days, weeks, months, and years we spend preparing for our futures will and inevitably launch us into our rightful place in the global society. | 
