To tell the truth, I wasn’t all that serious about doing what it would take but I needed the grade so for the next six weeks i went over and over formulas, solved for the elusive Xs, Ys and Zs. I wrestled numbers around to balance the two sides of equal signs. I actually began to enjoy the challenge in the work that Ike, as I began to call him, gave me. By the end of the semester I knew enough to pass the final with a generous B grade given partly for extra credit, Ike said. With that my grade point average came up enough to keep me afloat in the eyes of my parents and the college.
Ike also became a mentor for me for the rest of my college years and beyond. He seemed to respect and like me and I was certainly impressed by anyone who could make math interesting and I developed affection for him and his firm but gentle coaching.
He helped me with some of the papers I wrote for my literature classes and suggested I get involved with the school paper that came out bi-weekly. In my sophomore year I wrote some articles and helped with editing and layout and in the following two years, by default and lack of interest among the other student staff members, I became the editor.