b'Once her competitive team won the amateur class at the United States Parachute Association National Championships, she had two choices. She could obtain her Masters in Business Administration and stay in banking or she could go pro in skydiving. Curtis knew in her heart of hearts that invest-ment banking was not the road she was meant to travel, yet it felt like the sensible thing to do.On her journey to discover what would spark the same amount of passion and adrenaline rush that skydiving did, Curtis picked up a copy of What Col-or Is Your Parachute (how ironic) by Richard Nelson Bolles. A widely popular self-help book, she answered the life-changing, somewhat clich question, Top: Melanie Curtis doing a demon- What would you do if money were no object? Her answer was immediate, stration jump with a 375 square footalmost as if the universe had been waiting for her to see what everyone else flag on the front of her body that shesaw. It was skydiving. It had al-deploys once she is under her para-chute. R: These flags have messagesways been skydiving.that promote social justice causesWith her unstoppable spirit and brands her group aligns with. Photo credit: Highlight Pro Skydivingand proven success in the sport, Team. Curtisputanactionplanin placeandneverlookedback. chutes or skydivers land after jumping from an aircraft, on his property. TheShelefttheinvestmentbank-two spent many hours flying and jumping. ing world and accepted a job as Curtis studied economics and the arts at Middlebury College in Middle- the events and marketing direc-bury, Vt. After graduation, she took a job in New York at Donaldson, Lufkintor at Skydive Elsinore in Lake & Jenrette, an investment bank that was acquired by Credit Suisse Group AG.Elsinore, Calif. As the face and She transferred to Los Angeles (a strategic move so she could pursue skydiving)energybehindthedropzone, and worked for the bank for another three years. Curtis also had the opportunity She did very well financially and spent most of her paycheck on compet- to coach experienced skydivers Melanie Curtis uses her platform as a sky-ing, coaching, flying in the wind tunnel and purchasing gear. I never ques- on how to fly their bodies betterdiver to coach others and deliver keynote tioned for a second spending all that money on skydiving. I was singularlyand how to compete. speeches that focus on overcoming fear and focused and unstoppably driven, Curtis says. AccordingtotheUniteddeveloping resilience. Photo by Irina Leoni.feature story /19'