As a teacher, I taught in different countries with different numbers of students. The countries included Bangladesh (two universities), India (one university), and USA (five universities). In the United States, the number of students in a classroom can range from one to 100. Sometimes there are very few, and I used to feel that this is a waste of money. Not necessarily, though. That one student can then become a leader in his field.

My current university, MUW has a headcount of 2,227 students. The other day I learned we have one blind student enrolled at our university.

Who knows? This one blind student may make a breakthrough in our future unseen world. In my spring 2025 semester, I am offering an optional course on pharmaceutical sciences where so far, I understand only one student will be taking it. I am sure that this genius student may become a future leader in his major field.

Yes, of course a single person can change our world into a better and more humane world for all of us. There are plenty of single people who have shown the world how to change for a better world. Just a few of my favorite leaders mentioned here:

n Mahatma Gandhi – An idea of nonviolence movement initiated by this great man in India and ultimately succeeded in getting Indian freedom from about 200 years of British rule.

n Martin Luther King Jr. – Using the nonviolent movement, he wanted to create a society in the USA without color discrimination.

n Nelson Mandela – What a life he has been through! He spent almost three decades in jail and finally succeeded in ending apartheid in South Africa.

n Mother Teresa – An Albanian-Indian nun became a Saint and spent her whole life for the destitute, poorest of the poor people in Kolkata, India. She is known to the world as a mother of compassion.

n John F. Kennedy – The 35th president showed leadership in many fronts such as helping to avoid nuclear war with Soviet Russia, and championing the race to the moon. He once said, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

Think about Gautam Buddha. A single person presented a unique and most rational pathway to achieve Nirvana – perfect peace and happiness.  He said, “One moment can change a day, one day can change a life and one life can change the world.”

However, not necessarily every leader always strives for a better future for people. Who doesn’t know the name of Adolf Hitler? He was the most responsible for starting World War II and the Holocaust, both of which led to the death of more than 40 million people.

Obviously, we don’t want another leader like Hitler. In my most recent article in The Dispatch, “Turbulent peaceless world,” I narrated what’s going on currently in our world. Not a rosy situation.

Are we heading for World War III sooner or later? Maybe we need a  leader to spread a vibhuti as the hero of a race’s struggle towards divine achievement.

Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, teaches chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Mississippi University for Women. He writes occasional column in the Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].

Jiben Roy, a native of Bangladesh, teaches chemistry and pharmaceutical sciences at Mississippi University for Women. His email address is [email protected].

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