Character has been defined as what someone does when no one is looking. It is the set of ethical and moral principals that guide a person’s every decision–whether to study for the test or cheat off a friend, whether to surf the web for baseball scores or for pornography, whether to step forward or backward in a time of crisis.

Youth don’t inherit character as they inherit height or hair color. Nor can they learn character in a classroom as they might learn algebra or grammar. Instead, they develop character in the crucible of experience. As author Hellen Keller wrote: “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”