The Candyman

By nature, I'm a competitive individual. Since my youth I purposed to excel at what I thought I might be good at: namely academics. I worked to be at the top of my class and, for some schools, I achieved my goal. I was determined to lead the pack and set the example for others to follow.

My oh my how things have changed.

Though I have had the pleasure of serving (and competing) with many talented and intelligent people in the past, here at LMU-DCOM I find myself surrounded by an entirely new breed of classmate. Every one of my 240+ classmates seems endowed with extraordinary, almost supernatural, intelligence. They are bright, logical, and witty. Every day, when I show up, I am impressed anew with their intellect and ability. They seem to grasp the course-work with ease and are able, like youthful Sherlock Holmes, to draw reasonable conclusions. Often I stand back in respectful awe. Who ARE these people? I wonder. They are a diverse group, these mighty oaks among whom I learn. They hail from a dozen countries and nearly every state in the union. In this group are scientists, biologists, professional singers, former clergy, college athletes and uber-geeks. I cannot think of an ethnicity that is not represented. In short, they are amazing.

I sometimes wonder what I am doing amongst so august a group. I'm half expecting a school administrator to pull me out of class one day and say, "I'm sorry Mr. Fuller, but we made a mistake letting you in the school. You are qualified only to alphabetize our M&Ms in the school cafeteria". I am a midget among giants, a pauper among Picassos.

The up side of this happy situation is that every day I learn not only from the school professors but also from these talented classmates. I can truly say that I would not make it through school without their ready help. I am grateful for them and honored to call them colleagues. May God bless each of them.

I must get back to my M&Ms....