TL20050131_001 "Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com Monday, 1/31/05 Planning begins on CLA building 5 Student server receives upgrade 5 Local play looks at language issues Sublime tribute band rocks Recher Departments Opinion 2 News 5 Campus Calendar. 6 Arts 15 Sound Bites 16 Entertainment Briefs 17 Sports 24 In This Corner. 24 Face-Off. 22 Classifieds 19 Alum builds bi-coastal business Towson grad Glenn Stearns finds real estate success, stars in 'Gilligans Island' cast Mike Fila The Towerlight Glenn Stearns is at the bank. The beeps and blips of an ATM machine can be heard in the background, along with loud gawks and accolades, muffled by static. He politely excuses himself, taking his cell phone away from his ear. He talks to passersby who have gathered to look at his car. The door opens and the car chimes in alert. Stearns just got into his Bentley show car, a Continental Flying Spur - a coupe version of the company classic Continental luxury sedan. He apologizes. """"It happens a lot,"""" he says. """"I have a Mercedes G Wagon, a 360 Modena Spider Ferrari. I have a lot of unique cars."""" More fascinating than his car collection though, is his life, which through some odd and haphazard journey has landed him in the seat of this car. Just don't call it luck. """"You can throw luck in there if you want to; it's a good word and I suppose I have been very lucky,"""" he said. """"But I believe luck happens when you continue to do good things...I have been screwed over a million times, but I just choose not to deal with that person again, and ultimately you become lucky because you're with a lot of good people."""" It is this practical business savvy that has helped Glenn Stearns become what he is today ? a multimillionaire real estate mogul and entrepreneur. The 40-year-old gives a great deal of credit to his alma mater, Towson University. Stearns, a founding father of Phi Sigma Kappa, explained he developed many of his people skills during his four-year tenure at Towson. """"Here, I had to start learning about people. It was as simple as getting to know your teacher so they'd give you a C instead of a D. I learned how to deal with people,"""" he explained. Event variety attracts crowd 'After Hours' Derrek Windsor/The Towerlight Left: Micah Frye, lead singer and guitarist for the group Layhill, competes in the Battle of the Bands during Friday's After Hours event in the University Union. Right: Freshman Tina Nguyen receives a temporary airbrush tattoo of a tiger. Stearns admits the social skills he learned at Towson have served him better than his academic background. """"I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Towson. I definitely gained more of a social knowledge than academic knowledge,"""" he said. """"I went through the whole process of getting student loans and finding financial aid...working in Newell Dining Hall, and I loved it. I learned about what you need to survive in this world."""" His transcript reinforces the same message. """"Obviously with a 2.1 GPA I didn't stress academics very much, but I don't believe that I would be where I was today without Towson, because I learned how to provide, be a decent human being, and treat people well, and that all came with the education process,"""" he said. With a 2.1 GPA, an economics degree, and no idea what he wanted """"When you feel comfortable, you're not growing. You need to be uncomfortable to grow. I want a pin under my butt, I want to be able to move. It's about taking risks. You don't grow by being comfortable."""" Glenn Stearns alum to do with his life, Stearns headed out to California. Cross-Country Road Trip After graduating in 1987, Stearns headed across the United States on a road trip with one his roommates from the Glenmont apartments (now known as Fairways). The two found themselves shipwrecked on the beaches of Santa Ana, shacked up with four other roommates in a small apartment. One day a local friend of Stearns invited him to hang out at her place. While she was at work, he went for a walk on the beach, staring longingly at the million dollar mansions resting atop the bluffs. Stearns hungered for this slice of life. He approached one of the homes to figure out what stretch of fortune lead someone to this kind of lifestyle. """"I walked up to one of the homes and saw a man standing in the front yard. I asked him how he could afford a house like this, told him I would do anything to live like he did,"""" Stearns said. Ironically, the man Stearns approached was the groundskeeper for the estate, but he offered Stearns a life-changing answer. """"The guy said T don't know, but I think the guy is in real estate,'"""" Stearns recalled. His future was born. As his friend planned the trip back to Maryland, Stearns planned how he was going to make ends meet in California. """"I went back and told my buddy 'I think I'm gonna stay.' And so I did, I toughed it out,"""" he said. """"The next thing I know I got a job as a waiter and a loan officer, my buddy left and there I was."""" Humble Beginnings Stearns has crafted a life out of finding the silver lining of every rain cloud, the first of which was the birth of his daughter. Stearns was only a boy himself, 14, when he welcomed his first child into the world. See STEARNS, page 6 Today High 35 Low 15 Tuesday High 37 Low 19 Wednesday High 40 Low 23 Thursday High 40 Low 27 Friday High 41 Low 29"
