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Courtesy of The American Legion Magazine

October 2003

Between his freshman and sophomore years at Texas A&M, Brieden roomed with a student by the name of Rick Perry, now the governor of Texas. We were in Missouri selling Bible reference books door to door, he says. Rick and I were paired together. It taught us a lot. You've got to get up and knock on doors whether people buy from you or not, whether they're rude to you or not. To a certain degree, our two careers came from that summer.

John Brieden,
National Commander of the American Legion
Southwestern Alumni

“Hard work, discipline, perseverance, and maintaining a positive attitude were the trademarks of every successful Southwestern person I knew. Fortunately, many of those qualities stuck with me and played a very instrumental role in my success as an entrepreneur."

Mac Anderson, Founder & Chairman
Successories, Inc.
Southwestern Alumni

"… selling books gave me confidence. After running my own business a thousand miles away from home … medical school was a breeze."

Deb McCroskey, M.D.
Vanderbilt Health Services
Southwestern Alumni

"Making the decision to sell books with the Southwestern Company will be one of the most difficult decisions you'll ever make (or at least it was for me!). The time you spend selling books will be very intense, and difficult at times as well. But trust me - the time and effort you invest now will definitely be worth it!"

Ann Flanagan
Marketing Consultant
Clear Channel Radio
Southwestern Alumni

"… my experience running my own business during the summer confirmed that I had learned some of the skills necessary to succeed among a diverse populace of professionals."

Neal Anderson J.D.
The LexisNexis Group
Southwestern Alumni

"Four summers on the bookfield set me apart from other applicants, not only during the job search, but also in applying to law schools."

Ami Ivers
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
Southwestern Alumni

"Money can't buy, and college can't teach the lessons my precious son is learning this summer."

Robert Snider
Morgan Keegan & Company Inc.
Southwestern Alumni

Whilst working with Southwestern you take it for granted how much you are learning, and how little exposure others get to this sort of commercial environment.

Ruth Brougham
ARUP
Southwestern Alumni

These skills - of being able to motivate yourself, to keep a positive attitude under tough conditions, to set and achieve difficult goals - have stayed with me and become the foundations of my working life.

Tom McCarthy
Avondale
Southwestern Alumni

Southwestern alumni generally possess all the characteristics required to make it to the very top. Presentation skills, self motivation, team working, the ability to influence people and communicate to a variety of different audiences will count above anything else in the business world.

Mike Moore
IBM
Southwestern Alumni

My advise for anyone considering to work for SW in the summerthat if you have the persistance and the willingness to perform well, and you are attracted by learning opportunities, go for it.

Norbert Racsko
Procter & Gamble
Southwestern Alumni

. I realised from the start that no matter how much money I make (and I did make more money every summer), it's the intangible benefit that will last the longest.

Eugene Kumeyko
Hobsons PLC
Southwestern Alumni