What Would You Do?

Most of the time, Umpqua sophomore Chelsey Christensen is a typical college basketball player. She goes to class every day, lifts weights, goes to study hall, does individual workouts in the gym, and has a work study study job because she qualifies for federal financial aid. She eats more Top Ramen than she really wants to;not by choice but out of necessity.

Chelsey and I have an arrangement. Once or twice a week, I give her $3 and my Costco card and she drives a mile or so down the road and brings us back hot dogs for lunch. She gets and I pay. That's the deal. It saves her a couple bucks and saves me some time.

Last Friday I saw Chelsey anxiously hanging out by the entrance of the athletic offices and then saw a man around 40 years old walk towards the building. Chelsey rushed out and yelled "Are you Sam?" Chelsey handed him something, they talked quietly for a few minutes, and then they hugged before each turned around and headed back to where they started.

When she walked back into the offices, Chelsey told me that the day before, when she made our Costco run, she found a wallet in the parking lot that contained a social security card, a credit card, a debit card, and $280 IN CASH!!!!

So she did what every (well, probably not EVERY) poor college student who has little or no extra money would do - she used Sam's driver's license info to contact him and gave him back the whole thing!

Chelsey could've told Sam that she had found the wallet without any cash in it and I'm sure Sam would have still been happy that his credit cards and I.D. had been returned. $280 is a fortune to a "starving" college student. That much money could've bought a new ipod, some Jordan's, or nearly two year's worth of Costco lunches for Chelsey and her favorite basketball coach.

Instead, the $280 bought her the peace of mind that comes from knowing that she did the right thing. She even refused a small reward. I don't know how she did in class last Friday, but Chelsey Christensen passed her integrity test with an A+