Dream was to get an MBA.
In April 2012, Tony began a 20-month executive MBA program at Washington University in St. Louis. In December 2013, Tony graduated, achieving his #1 dream on a list of 100. “I’d been talking about getting an MBA since the day I graduated from a liberal arts college with an English degree,” Tony recalls. “The Dream Manager program forced me to start taking action items towards that goal. It also gave me the courage to request an official letter of support from Pennington, which was a requirement of the application process.”
Dream was to be debt free.
30 months ago, Matt Munoz and his wife, McKay, were in the same boat as millions of other debt-ridden Americans. The dream of purchasing a home, starting a family, and the ability to give back to their community was officially on hold until they could come up with a solution to dissolve approximately $144,000 of debt. It was only in preparation for their wedding that reality sank in: it was time to talk seriously about the dangerous road on which they were headed. But those uncomfortable conversations would spark a solution. That solution presented itself in the form of Dave Ramsey’s “The Total Money Makeover”, which Matt read in just one night. After signing up for Dave Ramsey’s weekly class, McKay was on board too. Using Ramsey’s ‘zero balance budget’ system enabled them to save $15,000 for their wedding- $15,000 that likely would’ve become an addition to their existing burden. Post-wedding, Matt and McKay got down to brass tacks: they found that weekends were a major distraction from their goal. At the start of their journey they agreed their entertainment and dining out budgets needed to be as low as possible. In order to minimize fatigue, they established a rule that every time a loan was paid off they would reward themselves with a night out or small purchase. This carrot system ensured they rewarded themselves and gave them motivation to tackle the next account. They both got part-time jobs at a restaurant in a movie theater to speed up their progress. A daily visual in the form of a ‘debt thermometer’ was both psychologically motivating and rewarding. Equipped with only $100 entertainment budget each month they found ways to be creative to maximize their fun time. One way was to take advantage of free movie passes the theater offered employees and guests. As you can imagine, they watch A LOT of movies. They also trained themselves to say “no” to countless happy hours, parties, social functions, and weekend trips with friends and family. 30 months later, in addition to paying off their debt, their journey and experiences have taught them the importance of communication, planning, and prioritizing mutual goals. According to Matt, “As a newly married couple, we learned how to communicate our financial needs, wants, and dreams” …. “Ultimately, it helped us create healthier financial habits over the 2+ years we’ve worked to achieve this dream.” By starting small and thinking big, they were able to define short and long-term goals to keep them focused, and obtain the ultimate ‘Carrot’: ZERO debt. They celebrated their dream by taking a trip to Australia paid for in cash.
Dream was to take a mission trip.
Megan knew that she wanted to do a service trip, but after researching countless trips for adults, she couldn’t find one that spoke to her. In 2012, Alpha Chi Omega started an undergraduate service trip to Negril, Jamaica, and two of the women she advised were accepted. “After hearing about their experiences, I realized this is something I not only wanted to do, but needed to do,” Megan says. “I needed to challenge myself and get out of my comfort zone, and I needed to help those who are less fortunate than me. Going to New Orleans made me thankful for everything I have. I don’t have a constant reminder every day of my life of something as devastating as a natural disaster.”
Dream was to visit the fictional town of Stars Hollow the fictional town from Gilmore Girls .
My best friend from high school and I waited 13 years to visit the (fictional) town of Stars Hollow from Gilmore Girls, our all-time favorite TV show. As we knew we’d never be able to visit the real town of Stars Hollow (mainly because it doesn’t exist), a trip to Connecticut has been a topic of conversation since we were kids. A 2017 Gilmore Girls Fan Festival was announced in June (complete with guests from the cast and crew), and as soon as we heard we began planning our trip. Our visit to Kent, Conn., was as close as we will ever get to Stars Hollow. We watched a recital at Miss Patty’s School of Ballet, ate dinner at the local restaurant with Tom and Professor Bell, visited Mrs. Kim at her antique store, ran into Lane at the town church, and last be definitely not least, chatted with Gypsy about arts and crafts during a meeting at Town Hall. I will always cherish these memories, however, what makes it even better is I was able to experience it all with my best friend. Achieving this particular dream wouldn’t have been the same without her there.
Dream was to become a Zumba instructor.
After a year of injury-induced immobility followed by the death of her mother, Karen found herself unmotivated, overweight, and struggling to take care of herself. But when she was diagnosed pre-diabetic, Karen knew that it was time to make a change. Armed with a goal to stay off medications, Karen started on a journey toward health with the help of a local Diabetes Prevention Program. She began by committing to a 5k and, though the training was awful, she stuck with it. After 9 weeks of work she came in 4th place in her age group and is now hooked on running. After the race, Karen set another goal for herself: become a Zumba instructor. Even though she was diagnosed with spinal arthritis one week before her training she refused to give up on her dream. Now she is excited to share her love of Zumba with students and is thinking of training to teach Aqua Zumba so that others with mobility or pain issues can have a fun, enjoyable exercise experience.
