Taking initiative is one action that can unequivocally lead to success. As the saying goes, you can’t win the game if you don’t roll the dice. One Olympic Heights student took this adage to heart.

Senior Madison Borman, in an act of pure initiative, won a national sweepstakes put on by the hit television show Shark Tank. By simply tweeting out one thing she learned from an episode of the show, Borman ended up entering, and consequently winning, this sweepstakes. Her winnings included a Shark Tank-inspired prize pack, a three-day, two-night trip to Los Angeles for a live filming of the show with her family in June, and most notably, a visit from the show’s cast, known collectively as “the Sharks,” to Olympic Heights.

Shark Tank is a television show where up-and-coming entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to multi-millionaires, the Sharks, in hopes that at least one of them will invest in their business in exchange for a percentage of the business. The Sharks on Shark Tank are some of the most notable and successful people in our culture. They are highlighted by Mark Cuban, the owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks; Kevin O’Leary, the self-dubbed “Mr. Wonderful” and a wealthy Canadian businessman,; and Daymond John, the founder, president, and CEO of FUBU, a popular clothing brand. All three visited Olympic Heights High School along with new “Shark” Ally Webb, who happens to be an Olympic Heights alum.

Thanks to Borman, this past Monday, the Sharks engaged in a fifty-minute question-and-answer session in front of the entire student body in the gym. The electric atmosphere in the gym was apparent due to the bated breath of each student as they awaited the arrival of the television personalities. Led by Cuban, the Sharks walked into the gym to roaring applause on Monday’s star-studded afternoon.

Prior to the Sharks entering, however, the student body was treated to some very pleasantly shocking news. A representative of the Junior Library Guild surprised the school with a donation of over one thousand books to the OH media center along with the naming of their national reading contest after Borman.

Student leaders and aspiring Olympic Heights entrepreneurs were able to pose questions to the business moguls so as to learn from the Sharks’ business insight. Senior and FBLA President Mariana Vallejo noted before the event that she hoped to learn what “came next” after starting a business and was looking to be inspired by the Sharks. The Sharks worked their magic on Vallejo, who left the event saying, “I have a million ideas [and] I’m going to try every one until I’m successful.”

Borman, the real superstar of the event, also had an opportunity to pose a question to the Sharks. She asked the multi-million dollar question: “How do I develop an idea into an actual product and eventually into a business?” As every student fell silent, Cuban responded, noting that “it’s always the same process…do research and teach yourself.”

In an interview with WPTV, Borman still in awe at her victory, said: “I did not think I would win, I’ve entered contests before and haven’t won.” In a response to another student’s question, Cuban noted the enlightening reality of Borman’s victory and unknowingly complemented Borman’s innate drive, “No one remembers your failures, [but] if you’re right one time, everyone calls you a hero.”