John Nelson started in the anthropology programs in Teachers College with the 2000 cohort. He is a tall, bulky, black man who is perenially jovial and enthusiastic. He can be embarassingly admiring of what we do. He did not have an easy time in the first year colloquium; and he had a very difficult time in the second year colloquium after a summer fieldwork somewhere in the Carribeans. He came close to being failed but, given everything, we decided to give him a chance and Comitas started working with him (as far as I understood). He was allowed to continue in the program and, regularly, he attends the spring colloquiums. He stands out as willing to ask the naive questions that are all but ignored. I believe [CHECK] that most people in his cohort who did not leave have finished.