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56318U_BC-3.indd 2 W H I L E T H E R E A R E M A N Y W A Y S T O B E A D V E N T U R O U S O P E N I N G A D O O R I S T H E F I R S T S T E P . US UNIVERSITY D MAGAZINE OF SA N DI EGO / S P R I N G 2 0 1 0 2/2/10 10:53 AM EDITORIAL LICENSE USD MAGAZINE MAGAZINE S T A F F [ e d i t o r / s e n i o r d i r e c t o r ] Julene Snyder [reinvention] [email protected] [ s e n i o r c r e a t i v e d i r e c t o r ] Barbara Ferguson BE KIND, REWIND [email protected] Who among us hasn’t wished for a do-over? CONTRIBUTORS was flying. Legs pumping, hair a wild whipping nimbus, going faster than I ever [ w r i t e r s ] had. A moment earlier, when I’d finally reached the top of the hill, a bit out of Ryan T. Blystone, Carol Cujec, Nathan Dinsdale, Liz Harman, Kelly Knufken, breath, I’d barely paused before I took a deep breath, pointed the front wheel I Trisha J. Ratledge, Anthony Shallot ’10 of my beloved gold Schwinn in a downward direction, leaned forward and let [ p h o t o g r a p h e r s ] gravity do the rest. Nick Abadilla, Andrew D. Berstein, Like I said: flying. I kept up with, and then passed, the cars alongside me. My teeth Luis Garcia, Fred Greaves, clattered together with every bump in the road; my feet were a cartoonish blur as Tim Mantoani, Brock Scott, Marshall Williams they pedaled, faster, ever faster. I was flying and wild and free and my grin might well have split my face in two, right up until the moment I realized there was no way I was going to be UNIVERSITY O F S A N D I E G O able to stop in time to avoid the tall wooden fence at the bottom. Uh oh. I must have made a sound of some sort, but all I remember is my mouth in a perfect “o” and my han- [ p r e s i d e n t ] dlebars refusing to head in any direction except straight down. Mary E. Lyons, Ph.D. It was very quiet there in the leaves. I could see my bike’s glittery gold banana seat about 10 feet away, [ v i c e p r e s i d e n t o f I could hear that the wheels were still spinning. Then, somewhere, way off in the distance, running foot- u n i v e r s i t y r e l a t i o n s ] Timothy L. O’Malley, Ph.D. steps, getting closer. I closed my eyes for just a minute and listened to my wildly pounding heart begin to slow. [ a s s i s t a n t v i c e p r e s i d e n t o f p u b l i c a f f a i r s ] “Are you all right?” Pamela Gray Payton Good question. This being the olden days, of course I wasn’t wearing a helmet. My head had miracu- [ u s d m a g a z i n e ] lously escaped slamming into anything solid, instead bouncing harmlessly off of a pile of leaves that the is published by the University of San Diego wind had eddied next to the fence. The rest of me hadn’t gotten off so lucky. for its alumni, parents and friends. Editorial offices: USD Magazine, University “I’m not sure,” I answered. My brand new jeans were ripped, my elbows were embedded with pebbles Communications, University of San Diego, and dirt, and my left knee felt like it was swelling up as big as a Halloween pumpkin. 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110. “I saw the whole thing,” the lady said. “I was stopped right over there at that stop sign and I saw you Third-class postage paid at San Diego, CA come flying down that sidewalk as fast as could be. I thought you were going awful fast, too fast really. 92110. USD phone number: (619) 260-4600. I guess you hit a rock or something, because then you were flying through the air, right before you Postmaster: Send address changes would’ve gone full-force into that fence. I pulled my car over and came over here to see if you were all to USD Magazine, University Commun- ications, University of San Diego, right.” 5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, CA 92110. Something about her voice, or maybe hearing exactly what the whole thing had looked like from the USD Magazine is printed with vegetable- outside, made it more real. All of a sudden I realized I really wasn’t all right. In fact, my knee was looking based inks on paper certified in accor- pretty gosh-darned gory. There was blood, sure, but I didn’t want to look too much closer to see what dance with FSC standards, which else might be going on to make it feel like it was scraped as raw and clean as a hollowed out seashell. support environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically I still have that scar; from certain angles, it sort of looks like Portugal. My bike, though, was a total loss, viable management of the world’s forests. which was a bitter blow since I never had another one that I loved quite as much. My mom, of course, wanted to know what I’d been thinking, and my dad, of course, pointed out the value of a dollar and [ u s d m a g a z i n e w e b s i t e ] www.sandiego.edu/usdmag that bikes don’t grow on trees. Me, I’d lie awake after lights-out, reliving the moment when I’d been flying, wishing that I could go back in time, just once, and adjust my front wheel enough so that I’d stay on the sidewalk long enough to keep control, apply the brakes, come to a stop all on my own. [0210/55,600] But of course, it was too late for all that. This issue is filled with people who’ve found their true calling. Some have always known which way to go, others have taken a more circuitous route. And no doubt, more than one of them has wished, at least once, for a do-over. But in the end, we usually realize that even our most bone-headed moves have a purpose, even if that purpose turns out to be to teach us not to be such a knucklehead next time around. But you know what? Even all these years later, flying dreams are still my favorite. — Julene Snyder, Editor 56318U_BC-3.indd 3 1/29/10 10:15 PM LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [counterpoints] mind, this was about working no doubts concerning his former through graduate school and hard and how wonderful it feels mentor — or is it taskmaster? — residency. I recall classmates to accomplish your goal. in French and journalism. frequently asking me how I was I read this to our oldest — Paul Reed Arigan able to do well in a class like daughter who is in graduate organic chemistry when they school, and also to another Dedication Pays Off struggled. Though some of them daughter who is an undergrad. I enjoyed Dr. Malachowski’s “point thought I was really bright, I I too, felt inspired to finish some of view“ (“That Eureka Moment,“ think they were wrong. It was unfinished tasks in my life. Fall 2009). Just as Dr. Williams really just hard work and dedicat- Thank you for the inspiration influenced Dr. Malachowski, I ing time to learning the material; and the wonderful reminder would like to point out that Dr. these developed into habits that about studying and working Malachowski has undoubtedly have helped me for 11 years in hard, and the sweet reward of influenced many of his students podiatric medicine and surgery. doing so. — including myself — to work In studies of true expertise, — Jennifer MacLaggan researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number: Details Great and Small Every Little Nuance 10,000 hours. I would take a guess USD Magazine is always outstand- A word of thanks to Nathan that Dr. M. probably has spent ing, but this time I simply must Dinsdale for the excellent article more than 10,000 in his lab and mention and congratulate you on concerning Juan José Alfonso classroom! the photography. The portrait (“Wide World of Deportes,” Fall Dr. Malachowski deserves some photos by Tim Mantoani and oth- 2009). He has captured my for- props, and USD is lucky to still ers, which reveal such character; mer student’s personality and have him! the little boy by Susan Graunke, speech patterns right down to — Greg Still, DPM ’91 with every hair shining and even the commas and ellipses. the knitting on the shirt underscor- Although years may pass Opportunity Knocks ing the tenderness of the photo; before we educators hear how I was so pleased to read the article and the incredible photograph of well a student has succeeded in about Nick Yorchak (”Just a Click Elizabeth Olinger by Richard the “real world,” not once have Away,” Fall 2009), since he is my Wood, with all the detail of grass we doubted, not once have we hard and realize our potential.

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