During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was confident that I had nailed this test and breezed through the questions until I read the last one: ‘What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?’

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had passed by the cleaning woman many times. She was short, white-haired and in her 50’s, but how would I know her name?
 

I handed in my paper, and left the last question blank. Just before class ended, someone asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.
 

‘Absolutely,’ said the professor. ‘In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say ‘hello.’
 

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Olivia.