兔子先生

During a recent student panel discussion, entrepreneur David Sussman, chief visionary officer of The Family Security Plan and a member of the Pompea College of Business Advisory Board, spoke about the impact of Uccountability 鈥� a program he built to help students, faculty, and staff achieve academic, personal, and professional goals together.

鈥淭hroughout his career, David has focused on helping individuals identify meaningful goals and transform them into action through consistency and peer support,鈥� Nancy Savage, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for academic affairs said. 鈥淭hat work now forms the foundation for Uccountability.鈥�

University leadership sees the program as a natural fit for its mission.

鈥淎t its core, Uccountability challenges us to hold one another and ourselves accountable for excellence,鈥� President Jens Frederiksen, Ph.D., said. 鈥淚t also embraces the powerful practice of self-exploration, understanding what matters most, and committing to achieving our best.鈥�

Sussman began the event by addressing goal setting, something everyone in the room could relate to.

鈥淲e all set goals,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ew Year鈥檚 resolutions. The beginning of the school year. When you say, 鈥榃hen I graduate, I want to be this.鈥� Those are goals.鈥�

The challenge, he explained, is not setting goals but sustaining them. 鈥淟ife will happen to you,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to fall off. The question is, how long do you stay off?鈥�

The 鈥渕agic,鈥� as he described it, comes from pulling someone else in.

鈥淵ou pull a friend or a mentor. You find somebody connected to you who helps you get from point A to point B,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you can shorten that window and get back on faster, you鈥檙e going to achieve your goal. This is a fact.鈥�

He recalled attending a conference where a leader shared something he's never forgotten.

鈥淪he said, 鈥楬ere鈥檚 the secret to greatness: get a coach,鈥欌�� Sussman told the audience. 鈥淎nd a coach isn鈥檛 necessarily someone you pay. It could be a friend. A teacher. A therapist. A mentor. At the end of the day, Uccountability is the secret to success.鈥�

The program aligns with key University priorities, including fostering resilience and leadership. Sussman noted that it directly connects to more than half of the University鈥檚 Charger 11 foundational tenets.

鈥淚f you build the system now,鈥� he said, 鈥測ou鈥檝e got it for life.鈥�

For the students in the inaugural cohort, the program addressed a challenge they had felt for a long time.

鈥淏efore joining Uccountability, I didn鈥檛 have a way to keep myself honest when tracking my goals,鈥� said Connor Mooney 鈥�28. 鈥淭hey would fade over time.鈥�

Zoe Santos 鈥�28, described relying on scattered to-do lists. 鈥淚t was very unorganized,鈥� she said. 鈥淧ersonal goals or health goals would just be things I鈥檇 say, 鈥極h, I should do this.鈥� And then that would never happen.鈥�

For Katelyn Beach '25, '26 MBA, the issue was sustainability. 鈥淚鈥檝e always been driven academically and professionally,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut when it came to personal goals, they would fall to the wayside. Going off sheer willpower wasn鈥檛 sustainable. Uccountability gave me the structure I needed.鈥�

The pod system, where small groups check in with each other daily, proved transformative. 鈥淏eing part of a pod was incredible,鈥� Beach said. 鈥淚t was like having a consistent support system that showed up every single day.鈥�

Tess Blair '28, described the support as essential. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a bunch of encouragement,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 not having the best day, we talk about how I can combat it, reflect, and move forward.鈥�

For all of the students, they felt accountability to their peers felt different than accountability to oneself.

鈥淚 would rather let myself down than let my peers down,鈥� Mooney admitted.

Blair agreed. 鈥淢y peers motivated me. They brought out motivation from within.鈥�

As the semester progressed, students began to see deeper changes.

鈥淎t first, I would hang back and wait for someone else to send their reflection,鈥� Santos said. 鈥淭hen I started getting excited to send mine first.鈥�

For Beach, Uccountability reframed how she looks at leadership. 鈥淚t鈥檚 consistency,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 showing up not just when it鈥檚 convenient, but when people count on you.鈥�

The program also strengthened the students鈥� ties to the University. 鈥淚t created a different kind of connection,鈥� Beach said. 鈥淥ne based in support and shared growth.鈥�

Students emphasized that the impact extends beyond academics.

鈥淯ccountability fosters growth, no matter what that growth may be,鈥� Blair said. 鈥淚t enabled me to take on more, join more clubs, and manage my time properly.鈥�

鈥淚f you want students to succeed,鈥� Beach said, 鈥測ou have to support how they succeed, not just what they succeed in. We don鈥檛 need another resource we have to seek out. We need a framework built into our daily lives. And Uccountability does that. It works.鈥�