Why the English lesson, you may ask? When the recession struck in 2008 and references to our so-called “Great Recession” became commonplace, I began to wonder about the implications of tacking that word onto the front of our economic problems. I’ll grant that it’s a clever turn of phrase—one that stands out in this age of sound bites by recalling the Great Depression. Yet I can’t help but feel as though we’re being premature, as well as a bit presumptuous, in likening this downturn to what happened 80 years ago.

As unprecedented as this recession is in terms of its scope and complexity, the Great Depression stands alone in severity. No turn of phrase, regardless of how catchy it is, should imply otherwise. During the Depression the Dow dropped almost 90 percent over a three-year period, and unemployment reached an astonishing 25 percent. By comparison our downturn has resulted in a 50 percent drop in the stock market (which has since rebounded considerably) and just under 10 percent unemployment.

Numbers tell just one part of the story, though. To get an idea of how difficult it was then, I only have to look to my own family. During the 1930s my great-grandparents were among the hundreds of thousands who migrated to California in search of work. For the better part of a decade they went from one backbreaking job to another, and their home was often a dirt-floor tent. My grandfather’s stories about his childhood were like something straight out of The Grapes of Wrath.

It’s little wonder why we refer to these individuals as the Greatest Generation. Even if you disregard World War II, the Depression was more than enough to earn them that nickname. Perhaps our desire for a similar distinction explains why we’ve latched on to calling this the Great Recession. Whether we admit to it or not, we all have high expectations for our lives and wish to be part of something historic, even if it comes about through hardship.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “To be great is to be misunderstood.” Those words still ring true today, but not just in the way he intended them. Somehow we have misinterpreted the true meaning of greatness. Applying that label correctly requires perspective—something we are in short supply of these days. We ourselves can’t say if we’re living in great times. That’s for a future generation to decide.

Among the speakers at the conference was Robert Merton, a Nobel Prize-winning economist. He compared the crisis to a scene in a hospital emergency room. Like a patient being rushed in with an unknown ailment, the economy first has to be stabilized, he argued, and that takes a team of experts with intuitive skills. Once the problem is diagnosed, a long-term solution can then be put into place. This task, he said, is best left to a different team of experts, whose strength is in designing complex systems. 

All these months later Merton’s emergency room analogy still applies. To help stabilize the economy, the experts have tried using the Troubled Assets Relief Program to purge the financial sector of its so-called toxic assets. They’ve also begun administering the steady IV drip of the stimulus package, which aims to nourish Main Street America back to health. Neither solution, however, has been a cure-all, and the economy remains in critical condition.

Meanwhile there are plenty of Americans gripped with fear just outside the emergency room. Faced with a crisis of such magnitude and complexity, many of us can’t help but feel hopelessly small when it comes to our role in the economy. Yet we shouldn’t let these thoughts discourage us from playing a part in its survival and recovery. In fact some would argue that now is the time when the average citizen can have the greatest impact—and reap the greatest reward. Amid this turmoil, these individuals see opportunities to invest where others have retreated and to start businesses where others have failed. 

This entrepreneurial spirit is the lifeblood of our nation’s economy and is one of the distinguishing qualities of the Owen School. As editor I often hear from alumni who credit the school with giving them the necessary skills and confidence to take risks in business and succeed. In this issue you’ll find some of their stories, including a feature about three former classmates who are now CEO entrepreneurs and a profile of an alumna who is running a women’s adventure travel company. 

Of course not everyone can be a successful entrepreneur, but there’s a lesson to be learned from those who are. We all can have an impact simply by not allowing ourselves to be paralyzed by fear. Our collective inaction as a nation only makes matters worse. By finding the confidence to go about our daily lives—spending and investing wisely—we can send a signal that the heart of this country is still beating. 

And that perhaps is just the medicine our economy needs.

However, there’s one stat you won’t find in there, and it’s perhaps as telling as any other: the number of Owen students who find their soul mates inside the walls of Management Hall. When we decided to do a photo essay in this issue about couples who attended the school, I was surprised to learn that there are more than 200 of them. That’s almost five per year since the school first opened its doors! Even when you account for the couples who may have known each other beforehand, or those who may not have met until after graduation, it’s a remarkable number for a school of Owen’s size. In fact, when I mentioned this to a single colleague of mine at Vanderbilt, she joked that maybe she should think about applying to Owen to find a mate.

But this begs a question: Why so many? Could it be that business-minded people are better at finding love than others? If you were to ask me that question 15 years ago when I was majoring in English and cutting my teeth on the sonnets of Shakespeare, I would have scoffed at the suggestion. If anyone understands love, I would have said, it’s the poets, artists and dreamers of the world.

That, of course, was before I came to understand that there are plenty of dreamers in business, too. It was also before I figured out that a successful marriage is every bit about being practical and level-headed as it is about being daring and romantic. If you think about it, finding the right partner in life is not too unlike finding the right partner in business. Ideally you come across someone who not only complements your strengths but who is also willing to take risks on your behalf. Who better than a couple of MBAs to recognize these traits in one another?

That partly explains it, I suppose, but I think the uniqueness of Owen also plays a part. If I’ve learned one thing since taking over the helm of this magazine, it’s that Owen is inherently an intimate place. The students who graduate from the school value long-term relationships and pride themselves on being a tight-knit community. This notion started, perhaps by accident, with the small class sizes and cramped quarters during the early days of the school, but it still holds true today.

In the end, your guess is as good as mine as to why so many couples pass through the doors of Owen. Maybe it’s nothing more than a coincidence. But now that the word is out, don’t blame me if Admissions sees a spike in applicants who are single.