David Eccles Week has reached the halfway mark, and we continue to push through the celebration as we honor the value of Perseverance.

When David Eccles left this world as a very wealthy man at age 63 in 1912, he was mourned, honored and celebrated. His success, and reason for admiration, had as much to do with his personal grit and diligent hard work as his natural talent.

Without perseverance, David Eccles may never have made his mark. He started small and became the founder of more than 54 businesses, creating railroads, food-processing plants, logging companies, banks, construction companies and more. When he encountered an obstacle, he didn’t let it stop him. He found a way around the problem, and it was sheer will that often saw him through a situation.

Students at the Eccles School learn something about perseverance as they earn their degrees. Many of them wouldn’t even be here if they hadn’t already learned, to some extent, to persevere.

Faculty and staff persevere every day to make the learning environment as strong and effective as possible. Students persevere through exams, internships and extracurricular activities because they know they will reap the rewards of their determination.

As a business school community, we respect diligence and hard work and believe perseverance plays an important, lasting role in each of our lives.