“Now cut this very carefully; it’s an emerald.”

Twelve-year-old Paul Haig, SEHS ’73, 勤奋工作，以确保“石头”被完美地切割, 以外科手术般的精准度仔细规划下一步行动. Then, a little slip of the hand and he miscut. But he didn’t panic. Keeping his composure, 黑格抢救了这块“宝石”，并把他那颗修剪得完美无缺的“宝石”送给了石匠专家皮埃尔·塔切特, who inspected it and poured over each delicate cut.

Touchette, who taught the young Haig how to cut stones, 拿出祖母绿七喜瓶子的剩余部分, 是他给黑格练习的“石头”吗.

“Whatever you do, treat it like it’s the most valuable thing in your life, and do the best that you can”; Touchette’s words of wisdom to his young student left a lasting impression — and became a life lesson that Haig didn’t take lightly.

这种心态已经融入黑格的生活，并在他所有的冒险中帮助了他, 无论是在他的珠宝行业，今年是庆祝50年的服务, in his marriage with his wife, Diane, SECS ’83, or in his journey collecting textiles, stones, and whatever else he’s curious about at the time.

Growing up, 黑格和他的家人没有在一个地方呆太久，因为他的父亲是一名科学家，他的工作需要经常在全国各地搬家. 黑格在马萨诸塞州和加利福尼亚州之间来回穿梭，几乎到处都是.

“I never saw a tree grow as a kid,” explains Haig. “I never watched anyone grow up. We were just constantly moving.”

As the family journeyed around the country, 黑格和他的兄弟各自在每个城市探险. “当我们从一个地方到另一个地方旅行时，我的家人会开着我们的大众微型巴士，”黑格回忆道. “当我们在某个地方停下来时，我和哥哥就会去捡石头. 我们每个人都有40磅的限制，最后我会付钱给我哥哥，让他把我的石头放进他的包里.”

黑格还经常参观沿途的博物馆——洛杉矶县博物馆, 史密森尼博物馆和自然历史博物馆，黑格在那里探索了展品, learning about textiles, stones and relics. These adventures ultimately sparked his curiosity, the driving force behind his impassioned personality.

黑格最初对宝石的兴趣转变为对宝石业务的热情. He joined rock clubs wherever his family moved. By the time he was 14, 他有自己的营业执照，可以抛光石头和修理物品, and a year later was working for an opal dealer. 黑格和他的老板一起去西雅图参加宝石展，老板会买卖珍贵的蛋白石. Haig was like a sponge at these events, 吸收一切他能吸收的信息不仅是关于石头的，还有商业方面的.

最终，黑格的家人能够在他父亲的家乡扎下一些根. 黑格说:“来到罗切斯特，只有一个地方可以住，真是太好了。.