As we proceed through a new millennium, we look ahead to a brave new world--one perhaps even more fast-paced and glutted with impersonal forces than ever before experienced by mankind. There are, fortunately, a few individuals who embody the ability to tap into the souls of others to find what makes each and every one of us special. These people encourage creativity, stimulate imagination, and promote individuality. We are lucky when our paths happen to cross somewhere outside of the information superhighway--like in the classroom. In a time when many teachers may have forgotten what impact their lives have upon their young charges, there are still those who are conscious of the human spirit. They inspire and protect it, and, with any luck, their students will follow suit. I was honored to have been under the tutelage of such a mentor in my freshman year of college. Ms. Leoni Escoffery teaches Fundamentals of Speech at Palm Beach Community College. Her friendship and vision imparts her students not only with knowledge and insight, but arms them with something even more important--a true belief that we are each unique. This gift is matchless, and so that Ms. Escoffery's endowment to her students never be squandered, I plan to remember that we all have something special to offer one another. I will never forget that we need to nurture and encourage the uniqueness in others, and because of the efforts of one teacher, countless others feel the same.
-- Jennifer Cmejla, Florida Atlantic University