Since delivering his inspiring “In the Company of Others,” Glaister Leslie ’08 has become a spiritual guru for a handful of freshmen; nevertheless, he’s the first guy to admit he doesn’t have all the answers. However, what he can tell you about is anything that has ever happened in any episode of “Golden Girls.” And that the sweet potato fries in Usdan are out of this world.

Justin: Why did you decide to do “In the Company of Others?”

Glaister: I had a lot of personal experiences with my faith, and it’s been a very important part of my life. Then I was on Dean Maria’s advisory committee on religious and spiritual life last semester. We spoke to a lot of students, and I was really impressed with the number of students who were really committed to their faith and practicing their faith on campus, but whose voices really weren’t heard. I thought that it would be great to talk about [my faith] and be one of those people to get it out there.

J: Do you find that you’re now a celebrity among freshmen?

G: It’s funny. I have had experiences where people come up to me randomly and were like, “Glaister, I want to talk about my faith. I have questions.” And I’m like, “Great, O.K.” That’s been very encouraging, seeing students exploring that aspect of their lives. It’s weird though, because I hope they don’t expect me to have super-deep answers to everything.

J: We’ve been rated as one of the most “godless” schools in America. What do you think of that designation?

G: I think those ratings reflect God being perceived from a very Protestant background. Princeton Review is definitely looking through a Protestant lens. You have quite a few Christians on campus, but there are also a lot of students who are not necessarily Christian—and they don’t have to be—students who do believe in God. Whatever that may mean. So, no, it’s not really true, especially in recent times. Coming in as a freshman, I wasn’t aware of a lot of “religiosity,” and it’s not that it’s been increasing. I’m just starting to notice it more.

J: Why do you think students at Wesleyan are so private about their faith, because they are so outspoken about so many other things?

G: I think religion is hard to talk about. It’s difficult to say, “O.K., I believe in X, Y, Z.” And to say that this is not necessarily based on rigorous scientific research. That is hard to do, especially at such an intellectual place like Wesleyan. Whatever your religious persuasion—meditation, Buddhism, Hinduism—it’s hard to talk about.

J: You’re an international student. Where are you from?

G: I’m from Jamaica.

J: How was your transition into Wesleyan as a freshman?

G: There was no huge culture shock. Honestly, it’s because we have cable in Jamaica, I was raised on Disney Channel, and I used to come here to vacation. But a few things are different, like sitting on the floor and the concept of sleeping in sleeping bags on the floor was a huge deal for me. I remember as a pre-frosh, the admission office asked if I had a sleeping bag, and I was just like “Sleeping bag? You invited me here to sleep on the floor?” In Jamaica it’s just not something that’s done.

J: Do you think you’ll go back to Jamaica after Wes?

G: I want to go home, but I need to do grad school, and I’ll probably do that here or in the UK, so I don’t know just yet. With visa restrictions I can only work here for a year after I graduate, so I’d like to go home to work or work elsewhere and come back here for grad school.

Emily: What is you major?

G: Molecular Biology and Biochemistry. I was originally pre-med, and I realized that it’s just not what I want to do. I switched to public health.

J: What did you do this summer?

G: I was working at an injury control research center in Boston. This was my first public health stint, and it was incredible. I was doing two primary things. One was comparing crime-reporting systems. The CDC has a new crime-reporting system that we’re comparing with the FBI’s. We were trying to see which one was better in terms of accuracy. My second project was researching suicides among African American males, ages 15-24 in the early 1990s, because generally the suicide rate among white males is six times as high, but in 1985 there was a sudden and unprecedented increase in the suicide rate among black males, and the white male rate was going down. For the first time, the suicide rate for black males equaled that of white males. And then it started to go down, but no one really knows why it started to increase in the first place. It was driven by firearms suicides. I’m continuing with this with the same professor this semester as an independent project.

E: Is that the area of public health that you’re interested in?

G: The thing with public health is that is it so huge. I thought that medicine was broad enough, and it was hard to figure out what to do, and then I switched to public health, and it’s ten times as large. The injuries control research center is interesting, because there are very few around the country, and injury is the new area that people are starting to realize falls under public health. More people die from injuries each year than die from diseases. So that’s a new area that is interesting, but I don’t know just yet.

J: What do you think about the new University Center?

G: It’s really big. I like it. The Usdan Marketplace seems to be a nightmare, but I am one of the students who is willing to trust that the administration is going to figure it out. I’m willing to give them a few more weeks to see what happens. Though a lot of people have said that a lot of money goes into this campus center, while many students struggle with financial needs that are not necessarily met. That’s difficult. But overall, I like my mailbox. It’s really big!

E: And it’s private! No one can take your mail. What do you think of the food?

G: I like it. I keep eating too much, though, which I think is a good sign. It means that it’s good. My favorite is the sweet potato fries. Those are amazing! I need to get that recipe.

J: What is your favorite TV show?

G: I was going to say “The West Wing,” but truthfully it’s “Golden Girls.” I’ve watched every episode. When you hit Lifetime, and it’s on…yeah!

J: What advice do you have for the freshmen?

G: You will learn that mistakes are part of life, and don’t eat too many sweet potato fries.