“Cunning, Crafty, Quick.” by Sam McChesney

The students of Global LEAD have undergone many transformations during our time here in Cape Town, South Africa. Misconceived notions of poverty, wealth, family, and happiness have been altered and overcome through our coursework and time spent in the township of Sir Lowry’s Pass. Some of the most important lessons, however, are the ones that we have learned from our fellow classmates. The only Michael Phelps that most of us had heard of before this trip was the gold medal hoarding swimmer from the United States. Almost like a metaphor for the syllabus itself, my roommate, the REAL Michael Phelps, has represented a change in ideology of what it really means to bear that name.

Born from the rolling hills of Suwannee, Phelps is the epitome of man. He currently holds the record for largest Red Stag ever killed by bow and arrow in New Zealand (honestly). As a room, the gentlemen of room 136 have overcome adversity, grown in leadership, and jumped out of airplanes. I know this trip is about South Africa, but the life lessons that I have learned from Phelps, specifically from time spent hearing about his ARCA circuit racing career, will stay with me. Phelps once said, “rubbin is racing and loose is fast”. These words really resonate. They carry a deeper meaning after his 200 mph crash at Daytona back in 2008. In the middle of the 70^th lap, Phelps passed out due to carbon monoxide poisoning and hit the wall. Two weeks later he was back in the driver’s seat sitting at the first pole at Kentucky. Much like how we have been pushed to do on this trip, he overcame his fear and conquered it.