ttitude is everything.

Be it in the workplace, at school or just in your personal life, a good attitude can help you through any situation.

When I became editor of The Tech Talk, my mom gave me the book "Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results" by Dr. Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen.

It tells the story of a lonely single mother who is in charge of revamping a ghastly department in her office and finds hope in a local fish market.

Although it is supposedly based on a true story, I have never read anything as corny and unbelievable as this.

But looking past the pathetic dialogue, I saw the underlying message (mostly because it was plastered in bold letters on nearly every page).

It said, "There is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is not a choice about the work itself."

I think it's safe to say that morale in The Tech Talk office is high now, but it has not always been this way.

It's been almost three years since I began working here, and there was a point when I hated the paper and everyone associated with it.

My coworkers and I would come to the office, put on our headphones and leave as soon as our work was done. We talked to people as little as possible in the office, and we didn't often hang out outside the office because we simply didn't want to see anybody who reminded us of work.

But we made a choice to change things.

The other editors and I realized we had to be there, whether we liked it or not, and we may as well have fun while we were at it.

The fighting stopped, for one thing. We preferred to talk our problems out instead of screaming about them at our weekly meetings. People brought candy and other food in for the staff. Some of the editors would meet for dinner every week to discuss progress that had been made or needed to be made.

I didn't make this change; it started before I became editor. But when I got my promotion, I vowed to keep things moving in the right direction.

When I moved into the editor's office, I brought a bunch of smiley faces in with me (all of whom are named Rusul). That makes being called into my office for a "conference" less scary. Who can be worried when Rusul is smiling at you?

One of my former Tech Talk editors taught me to "make a sandwich" when running a meeting. He said to start with something good, then address things that needed to change or improve and then finish on a positive note.

My managing editor at The (Shreveport) Times this summer told me that everyone needs a coach. He pointed out that I had always had someone to help me make a transition into a new position, and I should return the favor by coaching future editors and reporters instead of getting frustrated.

I have tried to instill all this knowledge into my staff as well, and it seems to be working.

For the past couple of weeks, I have been very stressed and in a bad mood a lot of the time. But my friends on the paper, editors and reporters, are constantly checking on me, asking if I'm OK or how my day has been.

That means the world to me.

It shows me we truly have a good team assembled down here in the basement of Keeny Hall.

The most important lesson I've learned is that this doesn't just apply to work -- it applies to everyday life.

I hope I am teaching my staff important lessons, and I hope they can pass on their good attitudes to future students.

Heidi Hausmann is a senior journalism major from Opelousas and serves as editor for The Tech Talk.