And there you have it—Kamala Harris, the worst student Howard University has ever seen, but somehow, also one of its most successful.

While Harris’s professors may still be scratching their heads over how their worst student ended up in the White House, there’s a lesson here for all of us: Sometimes, in life, it’s not about knowing the answers. It’s about looking like you know the answers—and smiling confidently while you do it.

Kamala Harris might not have been the best student Howard University ever had, but she sure knew how to turn a C-grade education into an A-list career.