College Composition

"For David Goggins, childhood was a nightmare - poverty, prejudice, and physical abuse colored his days and haunted his nights. But through self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work, Goggins transformed himself from a depressed, overweight young man with no future into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and one of the world's top endurance athletes. The only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller, he went on to set records in numerous endurance events, inspiring Outside magazine to name him 'The Fittest (Real) Man in America.'" (364 pages)

We recommend purchasing the "Clean Edition" of this book. The original version has coarse language that some may find inappropriate.

Navy Seal Description US Navy 

Army Ranger Description US Army 

Tactical Air Controller US Air Force 

Source: Amazon.com

"Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor, Southern tobacco farmer who worked the same land as her slave ancestors, yet her cells—taken without her knowledge—became one of the most important tools in medicine: The first “immortal” human cells grown in culture, which are still alive today, though she has been dead for more than sixty years. HeLa cells were vital for developing the polio vaccine; uncovered secrets of cancer, viruses, and the atom bomb’s effects; helped lead to important advances like in vitro fertilization, cloning, and gene mapping; and have been bought and sold by the billions. Yet Henrietta’s family did not learn of her “immortality” until more than twenty years after her death, when scientists investigating HeLa began using her husband and children in research without informed consent. And though the cells had launched a multimillion-dollar industry that sells human biological materials, her family never saw any of the profits." (384 pages)

Johns Hopkins: Her Impact and Our Outreach

Lacks Article  

Henrietta Lacks Foundation 

Reader's Guide 

Source: Amazon.com

"Have you ever wondered why you get nervous being alone or why some people always seem to be able to talk with others about any topic any time?  Why do you like to be in the middle of the cheering section at a football game when other people would rather be reading a book on the top row of the stands? It all relates to your personality type, being an extrovert or an introvert. In American society, the extrovert ideal has become a powerful force over the past decades, so much so that society could have missed out on the genius within some famous introverts.  So.....what are the advantages of being an introvert? Introverted people make up at least one-third of the people we know. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society." (368 pages)

Extrovert / Introvert Quiz 

Reader's Guide 

TED Talk with Cain

Source: Amazon.com

"William Kamkwamba was born in Malawi, a country where magic ruled and modern science was mystery. It was also a land withered by drought and hunger. But William had read about windmills, and he dreamed of building one that would bring to his small village a set of luxuries that only 2 percent of Malawians could enjoy: electricity and running water. His neighbors called him misala—crazy—but William refused to let go of his dreams. With a small pile of once-forgotten science textbooks; some scrap metal, tractor parts, and bicycle halves; and an armory of curiosity and determination, he embarked on a daring plan to forge an unlikely contraption and small miracle that would change the lives around him." (320 pages)

TED Talk 2007 at 19 years old 

TED Talk about home and family 

Moving Windmills Project 

Source: Amazon.com

"In In Order to Live, Yeonmi Park shines a light not just into the darkest corners of life in North Korea, describing the deprivation and deception she endured and which millions of North Korean people continue to endure to this day, but also onto her own most painful and difficult memories. She tells with bravery and dignity for the first time the story of how she and her mother were betrayed and sold into slavery in China and forced to suffer terrible psychological and physical hardship before they finally made their way to Seoul, South Korea—and to freedom." (290 pages)

Recent Speech at UVA article, April 2025 

TED Talk 2019 

Original Speech One World Youth Conference, Dublin 2014 

Source: Amazon.com