Armed with a childhood of sewing skills and an internship at a custom clothier, Brittany McCoy ’16 set a lofty goal during her freshman year at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business: She would launch her own fashion line and feature it at DC Fashion Week.

Oscar “Santana” Zeballos, EMBA ’16, was a successful talk show host, but a 2009 format change left him at a crossroads in his broadcasting career. So Zeballos co-founded Washington, D.C.-based MORE Broadcasting to independently distribute and produce radio and podcast content.

It was 4 a.m., but Chuck Millison, OMBA ’15, was awake, attending class with his MBA cohorts at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. They were stateside, while Millison was in Qatar. Sometimes he was in Afghanistan or Jordan or Kuwait, but he stayed connected to his studies, thanks to the Smith Online MBA Program.

70s Steven Calvery ’73 has retired as director of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. He led the agency for over a decade and is the longest serving director in agency history. Roger Goldman ’74 joined Duane Morris LLP as a partner in the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group. Rick Harcum ’79 was named budget director of Frederick County, Md. Stephen Heise, MBA ’76 works as vice president of human resources at Maryland Live Casino.

Fearless leaders act when others hesitate. But the resolve to make tough choices doesn’t come in the moment of crisis. Fearless leaders set their values beforehand during periods of quiet reflection, and then align their behavior to their beliefs.