Sutton Foster, the two-time Tony Award-winning actress, delivered an inspiring address at Ball State University in 2012, built around a pivotal moment in her career. She had been offered a guaranteed role as Eponine on Broadway in Les Miserables — her dream role since she was 13 — when she learned she'd been cast not as the lead but as the understudy in an untested new musical called Thoroughly Modern Millie. Foster chose the understudy position over the guaranteed Broadway role, a decision that baffled everyone around her. She compared it to her childhood habit of fearlessly jumping into swimming pools before she could actually swim. Weeks later, the lead actress got sick, Foster stepped in, took over the role permanently, and won her first Tony Award. The show became a massive hit that transformed her career. Her message was clear: the willingness to take risks on uncertain opportunities, rather than clinging to safe choices, is what opens doors you never knew existed.