A Beautiful Story of Determination

These are the kinds of people who deserve praise, whether they want it or not:

"Done."

Andrew Engel has spent nearly 12 years in college, working gradually, steadily for the chance to utter that word. The moment came last week, when the University of Maryland, Baltimore County senior completed his final course requirements for a degree.

Graduation, scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at 1st Mariner Arena, was still a week away, yet as Engel walked across the campus of emerald grass and boxy buildings, he allowed the joy of accomplishment to consume him. That way, the moment would be permanently etched in his long-term memory, instead of becoming a feeling he knew he had experienced but could not recall.

A malignant brain tumor, discovered shortly after he began his freshman year at Rutgers University in 1995, robbed Engel of much of his short-term memory. His drive and intelligence, however, remained undiminished. That is why Engel, who lives in Ellicott City, is not only a degree candidate but an inspiration to many who have witnessed his odyssey.

"He was determined, very determined that he was going to do this," said Joyce L. Riley, associate director of UMBC's Health Administration and Policy Program and Engel's academic adviser.

A team of doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital that included Dr. Benjamin Carson removed the tumor in November 1995, but the damage it caused was so extensive that the doctors warned that Engel would likely never excel in a college setting.

Engel refused to accept that limitation. He asked his doctors to help him devise a new way to retrieve information from a brain that had become unable to retain significant amounts of it for more than a few minutes. They tailored a program that helped him prod information from his short-term memory reserves into long-term memory.

Wow!!