Brian -

So it's just about that time to be reviewed by the Faculty Rank and Tenure Committee...  well I have a few things to say about that.

I heard about this professor named Brian Fuller. I heard that his lectures were fascinating but that trying to get a decent grade in one of his classes could be a living hell.  I was curious... a bit cautious... but there was this Introduction to Cinema class that I absolutely had to take.   It didn't take long at all for me to see that it was different from any class I had ever taken before, but the light was turned on for me one fall afternoon sitting in a classroom on the third floor of Belk, right after a lecture on German Expressionism, while watching Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari.

Brian, you successfully connected for me history, art, film, psychology, technology, storytelling.  It was as simple as a Robert Wiene black and white film from 1920, but it is much bigger than that, really. The moment defines a significant transition in my life.  I am especially thankful for what you taught me about the understanding of the importance of connections -- how you guided me in my understanding of the Montreat mantra of the integration of faith and learning.  Simply put, that's why you're a perfect fit for Montreat.  You have a passion for the subject matter - whether it's Cinema or Public Relations, and you present it in a way that we can't help but be riveted.  When you ask what it is that we've learned, you don't want a regurgitation, you want a synthesis and our own conclusions interjected.  When we deliver proof of our knowledge you want it presented excellently.  And through the whole process you teach by example of how our faith, our life, our education, our work and our relationships are inseparably intertwined.

After Montreat, as I asked myself the proverbial, "Now what am I going to do with this degree?"  I found that the answer wasn't a specific industry or title that I was going to pursue.  The answer for me was to find something that required a lot of focus, sensing and responding to what my requirements are, communication with co-workers and clients, and environment where nothing short of excellence was acceptable - in short, what it took to get an "A" in Introduction to Cinema or Public Affairs Communication.  I guess that after the bar was raised I simply didn't have a taste for anything else.  I don't really know where I'll be five or ten years from now, but there is one thing that I know for sure and it's that I absolutely have to have a job where I'm required to work like I had to work for a Fuller class.

What I'm up to these days....

I'm now working as the Web Producer for Incyte Genomics in Palo Alto, CA.  As the Web Producer, I'm primarily responsible for driving the online communication of the company's marketing messaging and improving the customer experience of the online tools and applications.  It is a fascinating job - it's my responsibility to be the communication bridge between marketing managers, scientists and the software development team.  I certainly had to do some cramming in molecular biology, but its the foundation of the pursuit of excellence in communication and required attention to detail that got me the job in the first place and carries me through every day.

- Lee Lance