Mary Rodas's parents came to New York from El Salvador when she was four years old. Their neighbor, Donald Spector, owned a toy company. One day Donald gave Mary a new toy, and she said, "This is fun!" A few weeks later Donald gave her another toy, but she said, "I don't like this toy. It doesn't work." Donald liked her honesty, and they became friends. For years Donald gave Mary new toys, and she gave him very good ideas about the toys. When Mary was thirteen years old, Donald showed her a new ball with a balloon inside it. Mary told him to fill the balloon with water, paint the ball crazy colors, and put beans in it to make it noisy. The company sold thousands of the balls. That Christmas Donald gave Mary an incredible gift. He made her a vice president of his toy company. Her job was to see if the new toys were fun, and she made $200,000 a year. In high school, she took a limousine from her school to her office in New York City. She worked for three or four hours a day at her job. Today Mary works at a college. She helps students make decisions about their careers.