Confessions of a Talented Mind

Duke was recently ousted from the NCAA Tournament, so it is now safe for me to uncover a skeleton from my closet. I, Brett L. Slaton, was a student at Duke University. It was the summer of 1988 (cue the music and clouded vision) ….


Don't I look so young and innocent in this picture? I thought this was my 8th grade school photo, but it's actually from 11th grade at the tender young age of 16.

I was my very own brain trust in middle school. I had a pretty impressive report card for my 6th and 7th grade years. So as a precocious, math prodigy I applied for a summer program at Duke University. I was accepted and would take Algebra I over the course of 3 weeks at the end of the summer. This was my first time away from home (just before my 13th birthday), so it was a little overwhelming for me. The campus was full of kids and college students. We were able to work at our own pace, but it was an accelerated program so we were expected to complete a full class in three weeks. When we were not in class, we had free time to study or do homework as well as play games and interact with the other students. It was lots of fun. There were even special activities at least once a week. I remember one night they had a talent show by the Duke students. The only thing I really remember was a rendition of Parents Just Don’t Understand, complete with cutouts of Porsche and Cop cars. It was lots of fun. We had lights out at some point, but most students had flashlights to read or play games after that. I was very focused during class times, because I had no intention of doing work after hours. My parents decided to swing through on the way to Kentucky and pick me up, but they were going to be coming through a few days before the program actually ended. I finished the class in about two weeks, so my last few days were spent looking over material for Algebra II. I didn’t have time to get much done, so my professors recommended I just look over the major topics and ask them for help if I needed it. It was also suggested that I immediately take Algebra II when I got back to school, instead of waiting a year. My middle school didn’t even have an Algebra II class, so my parents signed me up at the high school my brother was going to (and I would attend the following year). I went to my Algebra II class first period at high school and then my Dad came and picked me up, so I could take my full class load at middle school. It was an interesting class, because most of the other students were football players. Somehow these big, strong guys that were two or three years older than me kind of looked up to me for being in this class. I was just trying my best to fit in. The class itself was not that hard (I thought it was easier than the Geometry class I was taking at my middle school). I did well my 8th grade year as well. If I remember correctly, I ended up with one B the entire 3 years of middle school (in an 8th grade Art class, no less). I will always remember that B though, ‘cause it cost me my 1st Panasonic VCR. But that’s a story for another day.

Those of you that know me for the honorable, upstanding individual that I have grown into have no problem believing this story, but I tracked down some actual documentation.


This looks handmade, so I found another one.


This looks rather official.