DR: My first job out of school was working for a large chemical company. That was a cool job. But when I found out that there was a job opening in research and development at Crayola, it took me back to my childhood. I remembered what it was like to open a new box of crayons, see all the fresh points, and smell that classic Crayola crayon smell, and I just knew I had to work here.
SA: What makes you successful?
DR: I understand that failure is part of the process. If you’re always playing it safe in life and never wanting to make a mistake, then you’re probably not experiencing as much of life as you could. When you’re willing to make mistakes, you’ll learn from those failures and end up achieving great things.
SA: Do you have advice for students?
DR: Get as many different kinds of experiences as you can, both in school and out. This is the time for you to experience things broadly and widely to find out what you’re good at and what you love doing.