Five values for success – a reflection by Outstanding Alumni Award recipient, Steve Rosfeld

Written by Steve Rosfeld (Communication BA ’04)

Steve Jobs once said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” It has been an absolute honor and privilege to serve a mission that I am truly passionate about, advancing the University of Cincinnati. I had the honor of recently receiving the “Outstanding Alumni Award” at the 20th anniversary of CommCeleb in April. Reconnecting with fellow alumni, students, and faculty who remain tremendous advocates made the evening very fulfilling and inspired me in many ways. Back in 2003, when I had a crazy and exciting opportunity to intern at the White House, Lisa Newman and the Department of Communication at the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences, bent over backwards to support me through the experience. I was extremely grateful for the opportunity that literally changed my life and put my career in motion.

While being passionate about the work of advancing the University of Cincinnati through the power of philanthropy as the Interim Vice President of Development of the UC Foundation, I am also an advocate for my industry which is higher education advancement and non-profit management. Per capita, Cincinnati has more non-profit organizations than any other city in the United States. There are numerous small charities, large non-profit organizations, and institutions of higher learning that are looking to hire great people who can help advance their mission. Non-profit management and higher education advancement is a growing industry that is in high demand. Federal and state subsidies continue to plummet and the need for private donations continue to sky rocket.

While I mostly refrain from giving unsolicited advice, I do feel passionate about a few things that could help students and fellow alumni continue to succeed in life and in their careers.

First is to follow your passion and get paid doing it. A large part of having a fulfilled life and career is to combine passions with skill sets. Be honest with yourself by realizing what you are interested in and what you are good at. This way, you can find a synergy of passion and skill set which will undoubtedly launch and sustain your growth.

Second is to be patient and persevere. All of us will have difficult things happen in life. I would encourage you to take those challenges on with a growth mindset and focus on how you react to those challenging scenarios. With this paradigm, you will be empowered by having these challenges make you better and you will inherently grow as a person and professional.

Finally, I believe there are five values that inherently make people successful in their life and career, especially in this town that I adore:

Make every decision through a strong commitment to INTEGRITY.  The AUTHENTICITY that you demonstrate to yourself and your advocates will foster a genuine. ENTHUSIASM for the mission that you serve. A strong WORK ETHIC will drive your EFFECTIVENESS in a sustainable fashion.