Harris and Schoen desperately wanted to make a difference. That night, Harris turned onto his suburban Evanston street shortly before 9 p.m. and found his neighbor Ricky Byrdsong lying face down on the corner, suffering from multiple gun shot wounds. It was at Byrdsong's memorial service that Harris decided to quit his job at Cognitive Concepts and chase his dream. I decided then to leave a really well-paying job and a ton of stock options in order to pursue something that has barely made any money at all. I consider myself fortunate.
Medical school can wait.
And Marathon Creative was born. The show, designed to provoke conversations and understanding about tolerance and diversity following the Columbine High School massacre, featured students from four schools in the United States. Marathon Creative was assigned the task of preparing participants from Chicago's Eberhart Elementary School by introducing students to the subjects at hand, provoking them to think clearly and creatively about potential discussion topics, and helping them articulate their feelings on national television. The show was a roaring success. Harris and Schoen were asked to participate in more Court TV talk shows featuring high school students.