What are some of your favorite school memories?
By Amrit Dhillon | Corridor Inc. Staff Writer
Originally published September 2007

     September means back to school — that time of year when you start fresh with new clothes and new teachers. Some choose to make the most of their education; others will be resigned to lunchtime detention with Mrs. Topple. Either way, from grade school and the hallowed halls of college to world history and biology, everyone has something from their school days that they remember fondly.
     For some in the Baltimore-Washington Corridor, those memories weren’t created that long ago. For others, the stories date back to a time when they had to walk five miles in the snow barefoot.
     Corridor Inc. hitched a ride on the big yellow bus back in time to find out what former scholars in the Corridor remember most.

     James D. Fielder Jr. is clearly a smart guy. The former state secretary of labor, licensing and regulation earned a doctorate from Michigan State and now works in business development for Smart Business Advisory and Consulting LLC, a global firm.
     But, while Fielder says he and his brother were good students, he admits they were also a little mischievous.
     The entire school system got a taste of that one winter while Fielder was in high school. He and a friend decided they needed a day off. So, early one morning, the two split a phone list, put on their best deep voices and started calling radio stations, phoning in a snow day.
     The stations announced the closure until they caught on to the prank, says Fielder laughing. He never did get caught.
     And kids — Fielder did mention there are now special codes to let the media know the caller is authorized to call-off school — so don’t get any ideas.

     We’re not sure if John Trupiano and Yair Flicker ever pulled a stunt like that, but they definitely made the most of their college years.
     The two Johns Hopkins University graduates met playing rugby their freshman year.
     “Early on we were regular old college students, but then the lights came on after a few semesters,” says Trupiano.
     In 2005, while still at Hopkins, they started SmartLogic Solutions, a Baltimore software and consulting firm. Today, the average age of their seven employee office is 23. Yup, 23.
    “I always thought computers are where I’d end up,” Trupiano says. “I excelled at math, which at the time I was growing up meant you were good at computers.”
     As for Flicker, he started programming computers when he was 10 years old.
     His dad used to bring old computers home from the office and he’d play around with them.
     “I’ve been attached to a computer since then,” he says, noting he liked math, science and chemistry in school, but wasn’t the greatest at English.
  
     Not so for Lynne Benzion. An English major and environmental science minor says she’s one of the fortunate ones because she truly loves academia.
     “Every day I learn new things,” she says enthusiastically.
     The associate director for Rockville Economic Development Inc. even worked as a substitute teacher for four years, a job she views as not much different from what she currently does.
     “I’m still teaching now,” she says. “I’m just teaching businesses about the resources available to them and the things they can do better.”