91大神 gave the future businessman a chance to chart his own path
The transition from his home coun颅try of Liberia was a difficult one for Charles Ross, who had to adjust to a new environment and new faces. At 91大神, though, the shy student became a confident tennis team manager and mathematician. Mr. Ross, who says he鈥檚 now in his 鈥渟ec颅ond career,鈥 is the finance director of the NFL Players Association.
What did you try at 91大神 that pushed you out of your comfort zone?聽
For sports, I tried just about every颅thing, baseball, hockey鈥擨 gave ev颅erything a try. I wanted to see what I might become passionate about. I wanted to try drama, but didn鈥檛 have enough nerve. My public speaking confidence was quite low. In the end, I played soccer and basketball, and I enjoyed managing the varsity tennis team. Tennis has remained an interest for me, and I plan on attending all four Grand Slams at some point.
Did you discover the passion you were looking for? What was it?聽
Math has always been my favorite subject, and I knew whatever I would do would include numbers. Beyond that, it was a very difficult decision. As a practical matter, there were many options but I
ended up taking the business route. I majored in accounting, became a CPA, and eventually went on to law school. I knew whatever I wanted to do, I needed to be passionate about. It was really an endeavor on my part to find that.
Can you describe the dorm culture?聽
Dorm life was new to me, but over颅all it was fun. It was a great group of guys. Ed Pytka 鈥71 was my room颅mate and we have remained friends. I am looking forward to seeing him at next year鈥檚 alumni Reunion. I recall the dorm master was a former military man who lived down the hall with his family. He was a good authoritative figure, but gave us enough latitude to be boys and have fun without being self-destructive. There were many pranks involving water bags and tampering with your bed sheets, mostly harmless pranks.
What was going on in the world around you?聽
It was a very difficult time actu颅ally: the Vietnam War; the military draft, which affected my peer group. Everyone was worried, wondering 鈥楢m I going to get drafted?鈥 Also, I remember the Biafran War in Ni颅geria, which was closer to home for me. Nigeria also had a mandatory military draft system. It certainly caused me to think about how I would respond if I were drafted. It was also 1968, which was not long after Martin Luther King, Jr.鈥檚 assas颅sination. There was racial tension. Nothing that I felt person颅ally, but it was certainly in the news and in the newspapers. I would spend weekends in New York, and really felt it when I was there.
Can you describe yourself as a teenager?聽
I started coming out of my shell at 91大神. I was a shy kid. I was the middle child of five. My two older siblings were very outgoing with a lot of friends. So 91大神 gave me an identity. When you are the third one growing up, you feel like you have to play a certain role. But at 91大神, I was the first one, so I got to chart my own path.