In the "high stakes" world of acting, it may be acceptable to slack your way through college. In the end, college is about the acquisition of marketable skills. In his column, "Overachievers miss out on college experience," March 29, Sean Collier's mistake is that he projects the success factors for acting on every other Penn State student.

Would you drive a car created by engineers who slacked their way through college? I don't think so. All you have to do is to compare Japanese attitudes toward education with yours, and you will understand why Toyota is one of the richest companies on the face of the earth and General Motors is fighting for survival.

Every Penn State student will live a life where their success is determined by the reward system that surrounds them. Good grades, leadership experience and the ability to sell oneself are reward system measurements that most students will face when looking for their first job.

Collier's shot at Penn State parents revealed the ignorance of his youth. While I "had a great life" as a Penn State student, in 1976 I received two simultaneous degrees from Penn State and in 1980 received a graduate degree. In 1982, I founded the corporation that I am president and CEO of today.

My children, who have chosen to attend Penn State, did so after rejecting Ivy League offers. If I followed Collier's path, Penn State might have been their only choice.