One of the truths about leading is that you can't do it alone. This is equally true about writing. One of the great joys of writing a book is the opportunity to work with scores of talented, dedicated, and inspiring people. We are profoundly grateful to them, and we cherish the opportunity to say thank you to all who have joined us on this journey.

Foremost, a shout-out of appreciation to the thousands of students we've worked with over the years. You inspire us and bring us hope. You give us immense confidence that the future is held in capable hands and generous hearts. And a special round of applause for all those students whose stories, experiences, lessons, and wisdom make up the centerpiece of this edition of The Student Leadership Challenge. Thank you for what you've accomplished and for who you are. And many thanks to scores of other students who have shared their experiences with us, even if we couldn't put everyone's stories into this book. We know that people will become better leaders as a result of reading about the lessons of your experiences.

We had a behind-the-scenes partner in this endeavor, Leslie Stephen, to whom we continue to be indebted. We've worked with Leslie for many years, and we are always overjoyed whenever she signs on for a new project. She's our developmental editor, our collaborator, our cheerleader, and our dream weaver. Leslie generously and graciously shared her remarkable talents throughout the project by pulling together our voices, keeping us focused, and endlessly offering encouragement and a calm presence. We want to acknowledge her substantial and significant role in this book and make public our deepest gratitude.

Our colleagues at John Wiley & Sons have been our constant companions on our journey of developing emerging leaders since before publication of the first edition of this book. Kate Gagnon, executive editor, was the champion of this third edition. Her focus on crafting high-quality resources in the education field has enabled us to produce a book that builds on the solid foundation of the past while creating a unique and distinctive volume that includes the most up-to-date research and integrates new resources into its pages. Joining Kate on The Student Leadership Challenge team were Alyssa Benigno, marketing manager; Michael Freeland, cover designer; Susan Geraghty, project manager; Paula Goldstein, interior layout designer; Roger Hunt, administrative support; Andrew Hallam, production editor; Michele Jones, copyeditor; Kathy Nebenhaus, publisher; Connor O'Brien, project editor; and Halley Sutton, development editor. We are blessed to be working with such a passionate team of professionals who make us better every day.

We also give a shout-out to Marisa Kelley, our brand manager from Wiley's Workplace Learning Solutions side of the house. Marisa has been with us every step of the way. She is dedicated to creating one brand and one community in support of developing exemplary leaders of all ages around the globe, and her passion inspires all of us who have the privilege of working with her.

As always, we cannot say enough how appreciative we are of our immediate loved ones—to Tae and Nick, and to Jackie, Amanda and Darryl. You bring great joy into our lives. We have witnessed—and experienced—your extraordinary feats of leadership; you have taught us more than we can ever share.

We wrote this book, as we have each of our books, in order to liberate the leader that lies within each person and to increase the quality and quantity of leaders for the world. That's our mission and our passion. Each and every individual matters. Each and every one makes a difference. The real challenge is to make sure that we're leaving the places we are, and will be in the future, better because we were there. Let's be sure to live life forward.