>>My first job was as a clerical assistant for the Trane Co.'s Indianapolis office. It was a heating and cooling business, so we were busy all year round.

I spent my days answering phones, typing, filing and making copies. I worked there for three summers in high school and college.

I got the job because my dad managed the office. He was also the district sales manager. It was a win-win situation because he knew he could rely on me, and I was able to make some money and help him out at the same time. While the work itself wasn't challenging, I understood it had to be done for the office to function. I did like the insight I got into the business world-specifically, how strategies for sales were developed and how decisions were made. It also taught me a lot about how people behave.

I was a cheerful teenage employee because my first car, a 1964 blue Ford Falcon, came with the job. I made about $600 a month and remember spending $50 from my first paycheck to buy a reverberator for the car radio so I could crank up the sound and give it kind of an echo. The rest of the money I saved for college or invested in the stock market. That job taught me a lot about financial responsibility.

To this day I remember that job with great fondness because of my dad. He taught me that no matter how much you want the sale, behaving ethically is most important. I walked away understanding that integrity is not an afterthought; courtesy and doing your best count every time. I also learned how to communicate with people-something very important in my job today.

-As told to Lauren Bernaldo