[Griffins78]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/1019...er-gaffney

Great article. This is why I love Stanford Football and Athletics - stories like these. Tyler Gaffney is such a great representative of the university.

Heard it before from many others but this is pretty well said:

"Out in the real world, you find special people few and far between," Gaffney says. "But here, they're everywhere. Everyone is driven to do something special, something that sets them apart. I'm no different than everyone else."...

...Gaffney points out that at Stanford, All-American athletes, entrepreneurs, and world-class chemists can be found in the same room. And while athletes are celebrated at Stanford, their on-field success doesn't change the university's expectations. "When you step up to bat in the bottom of the ninth, tie game, it doesn't matter if you hit that walk-off home run or not," Gaffney says. "You've still gotta write the 12-page paper when you get back to your house."

From the mom where he lived as a minor league baseball player:

"He's so quiet about how cool he is," says Jennifer Oyler. "Most people want to talk about themselves, but not him. His parents came out to visit and, mother to mother, I said to Tiffani: 'How do I get my son to be like yours?'"

Its this perspective that when they see someone really outstanding in many different ways or that they want to emulate or want their kids to emulate - it is someone that goes to Stanford. Its like the high school coach or teacher that says this kid is so outstanding in the class, helping others, humble, classy, etc. - those are the kids that they see going to Stanford.

[Griffins78]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/1019...er-gaffney

Great article. This is why I love Stanford Football and Athletics - stories like these. Tyler Gaffney is such a great representative of the university.

Heard it before from many others but this is pretty well said:

"Out in the real world, you find special people few and far between," Gaffney says. "But here, they're everywhere. Everyone is driven to do something special, something that sets them apart. I'm no different than everyone else."...

...Gaffney points out that at Stanford, All-American athletes, entrepreneurs, and world-class chemists can be found in the same room. And while athletes are celebrated at Stanford, their on-field success doesn't change the university's expectations. "When you step up to bat in the bottom of the ninth, tie game, it doesn't matter if you hit that walk-off home run or not," Gaffney says. "You've still gotta write the 12-page paper when you get back to your house."

From the mom where he lived as a minor league baseball player:

"He's so quiet about how cool he is," says Jennifer Oyler. "Most people want to talk about themselves, but not him. His parents came out to visit and, mother to mother, I said to Tiffani: 'How do I get my son to be like yours?'"

Its this perspective that when they see someone really outstanding in many different ways or that they want to emulate or want their kids to emulate - it is someone that goes to Stanford. Its like the high school coach or teacher that says this kid is so outstanding in the class, helping others, humble, classy, etc. - those are the kids that they see going to Stanford.