Select someone whom you have known over the years who has been influential in your life and development, and describe how or why so? 

Take notes for a conversation with your fellow team members or actually write up a short paper as follows: In your first paragraph, describe, in one sentence each, any four such adults in your life—anyone other than family members—and then select one of the four and describe your relationship to this influential person and what their influence was upon you and how you and he/she related to one another.   What did they “teach” you; what did you learn from them?  Why and how were they influential? This person needs to be someone you actually know and have a relationship with, not a role model drawn from our culture (that latter is perhaps another paper down the road).  Note that this person doesn’t have to be the single most important influential person but someone who for whatever reason was influential for you.

A second version of this topic is to select four role models in our world/culture and do the same as above.  Who are your personal heroes?  How so?  Why?