The Power of Persistence
Our Team Members are more than just great workers. They are people with interesting lives and great stories. While there are many, many inspirational stories they can share, maybe the most positive attitude and uplifting story of them all comes from Andrew Wilson, who works at Thermo Fisher (formerly Patheon). Despite serving 32 years in prison after being wrongfully accused of a crime he did not commit, Andrew has a new lease on life after a group of law students from Loyola helped unearth evidence that set him free.
Despite going through such a horrific ordeal, Andrew’s unbelievably positive outlook serves as an example for anyone facing adversity. He was unrelentingly optimistic over the decades. When asked if he felt any anger or remorse, he said, “I don’t have time for that. If I do that, then I’m taking good energy and wasting it. I can be spending that energy on my family. I don’t have time to think about anything negative, because life is too short.”
When he joined the 4M team in June, his boundless happiness was infectious. His sister called our hiring team and explained the situation, and our human resources department decided his resilience and can-do attitude were a perfect fit. According to District Manager Jon Goodson, “Andrew has a great attitude and enjoys coming to work each day. He is always positive and does not have any resentment.”
In addition to his outstanding work at 4M, Andrew is currently taking care of his mother and planning on attending the Innocence Project conference in Memphis at the end of March where he can share his inspirational story. Instead of viewing his experience as a negative, Andrew is dedicated into making it a positive not only for himself, but also as many people as he can reach.
While many of us might find Andrew’s experience extraordinary, he stated humbly that “it’s like anything else. If it’s something you want, then you fight for it and never give up.” Now Andrew is teaching us the power of positive thinking and persistence in working towards your goal. Not many of us will face as obstacles as large as the ones Andrew overcame, but his story motivates us to live every day to its fullest, enjoy every moment we have with our friends and family, and never give up on our dreams. Thank you, Andrew, for sharing your passion for life with us all!
