About Me
My name is Andy Gibson. I am a son, a brother, a husband, and a
father. In each of these roles, I try to lead an interesting life and better the lives of
those around me. This mindset was instilled in me at an early age and has defined
the many experiences that have forever shaped my life.
“Where are you from?” Most of us answer this question without much
thought and describe one specific location in the world that we identify with.
I always struggle with this question because I moved around as a kid and don’t
identify with one place but instead consider myself a global citizen. I was born in
Van Nuys, California and moved to Charlotte, North Carolina when I was around four
years old. Charlotte is where I grew up and laid down the groundwork for what would
become the foundation for my philosophy on life and leadership. I owe much of my
perspective to my parents as they are the two people most responsible for
encouraging my dreams and modeling positive behavior. Two things characterized
my childhood: ice hockey and travel. My dad worked for USAir when I was younger
and we regularly used our flight privileges to travel to all corners of North America. It was this experience that nurtured my love for diversity. Even within the United States, there is diversity amongst the population that need not go unrecognized. I would come to appreciate the differences I encountered and develop an outlook that was both considerate and respectful to those around me. Playing travel ice hockey also afforded me the opportunity to travel around the US.
Playing hockey taught me the importance of teamwork and leadership at an early age. I’ve always carried the notion that we have a responsibility to help those around us if we have the ability to do so. I was a skilled hockey player and made it a point to encourage my teammates and model the behaviors that made me successful. My parents guided me throughout my adolescence and helped me to shape my own opinions about the world. They did this without demanding that I commit myself to their belief system or values. They merely provided me with a number of options to choose from and left it to me to make my own decision. I look back on this and attribute my individuality to the way my parents raised me. I currently sit here as a father and wrestle with many of these concepts, as I hope to be a great father to my son, James.
While my parents allowed me to make my own decisions and experience successes and failures, they also taught me how to carry myself in my everyday actions. I learned to treat people with compassion and to appreciate unique differences instead of turning away from them. My mother would recite one of Walt Disney’s quotes to me every night before bed, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” This quote sums up my approach to life as I refuse to accept the possibility of impossibility. I think that we, as a society, are so quick to identify obstacles and turn the other way. We can come up with a thousand reasons not do something; we only need one good reason to try. For me, if I believe that I can make a difference, then therefore I need to try. If I have the capacity to positively impact the life of at least one person, then I should do everything in my power to do so. I stretched myself beyond my comfort zone on numerous occasions in my quest to experience the world around me. Leaving home for boarding school was a shaping time in my life.
I’m not sure that anyone is ever ready to leave home and be on their own. I had the full support of my parents but I would come to gain my independence at the age of fifteen. I transferred schools during my junior year of high school and attended Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. This school has notable alumni that include Pete Dawkins, Alexi Lalas, and Mitt Romney. It was in Michigan that I would come to experience the upper 1% of society as I went to school with a number of sons and daughters from prominent business families. Most times when we think about diversity our mind turns to the difficult areas of society that we have never experienced. During my junior and senior years of high school, I would come to appreciate my classmates for their individuality. Students came from all over the world to attend Cranbrook. Thus, there was such diversity in the dorms. One of my best friends to this day is from Saudi Arabia. We met during our first few weeks at school and he helped me during my transition from home. Preston Pinto is his name. Preston saw that I needed a friend and graciously offered his friendship at a pivotal time. He didn’t have to lend out his hand and offer his help, but he knew that it would make a difference. Much of what I’ve come to learn about leadership and life comes from my observations of those around me. My parents, Preston, and many other people have molded me into the person I am today.
Fast-forward to today, my experience at James Madison University and the Peace Corps additionally shaped my life. Check out my leadership blog for more on my life experiences.