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Abstract
Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents; which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.Horace (Roman poet, 65-8 bc) President Stain, Distinguished Members, and Ladies and Gentlemen: I stand before you today proud to have been given the privilege of honorary membership in this society and thankful to you for bestowing on me an honor that I shall always cherish. With President Stain's blessing I chose a topic that is very personal to me and I know is very personal to many of you here today: adversity and how we gain the strength to move forward. Because the SBAS bestowed an honorary membership upon me and because I do not know most of you, it seemed as if this was an appropriate occasion for me to share a piece of my life, to describe the first time I faced adversity and to reflect on ways that helped me overcome it and reach a position of leadership in our society. [...]concern about themselves, egoism, disrespect for the rights of others, and acceptance of corruption became the norm for the average citizen, creating an environment I believed I could not accept. Personal reasons beyond the scope of this talk made it imperative for me to leave the country of my birth and to try to start a completely new life when I was 27 years old. The person would be allowed to leave the room, but needed to be available for blood draws every 6 hours and urine and stool and poured...