Al Jubitz is a native Oregonian, recently retired from the family business, the Jubitz Corporation. He is President and Founder of the Jubitz Family Foundation and serves as director of two private start-up companies.

What Was I Doing at Age 15?
Often influenced by my classmates, I liked to try different things. It was during my 15th year that I learned something important about friends.

The advice came from my father. As a 15-year-old, I was hanging with some of the more rowdy football players in our class. We were cruising the `hood and leaving our mark, usually by “TPing” a person's yard. One day my father called me aside. He told me he noticed the friends I had chosen and said to me, “Al, you have a choice. You need to decide if you are going to be a follower or a leader.” I thought about that statement for a long time. I knew he was right. I also knew that my conscience was bothering me about some of the rowdy things in which I was involved.

That fatherly guidance may have led to my leaving the football team and choosing a new group of friends, track and field types. Cross-country was more me. With the runners I didn't have the pressure to be cool in a negative way. Even though track was a team sport, the events were more individual, allowing me to attain my own level without a lot of peer pressure. I found a new inner strength. One thing I remember doing all through high school was to smile at people in the hallways and to say “Hi.” While some would say this is strange behavior, it worked for me because I liked most people and wanted them to like me.

My advice to young people is to be involved in a school activity. Try it for a while. If it isn't right, try something else until you find your personal fit. Also, be polite and courteous to everyone. Ask questions and seek guidance from adults. Allow at least one adult to know you, for you will need an adult to write letters of recommendation as a senior.

Ask yourself if you are hanging with the right people. If not, do not. There are many people that will lift you to your potential and others that will want to drag you down. You have the power to choose which set of friends you want. You are the greatest contributor to your own success by making solid choices on friends, activities, adults you admire and habits you learn. Oh yes, challenge yourself to learn all you can.