2 ■ may 2002
features
the stentorian | ncssm
The Alstons: In Their Own Words
This issue’s "In Their Own Words” features a couple of school figures who are instantly recognizable in spite of their low profile and behind-the-scenes
methodology. In addition to wit, wisdom, love of NCSSM, and fondness for Bob Dylan, these two great men are fortunate enough to share a last name. The
Stentorian proudly presents: Lester Alston and Dr. Richard Alston, in their own words.
Lester Alston
Igor Gorodezky
T Tow long have you been at
11 NCSSM?
I’ve been here four and a
half years. Very nice place to
work. Nice people to work
with.
How did you find your way
here?
In 1989 I worked here
through a temporary agency
called Western Temporary
Services. Back then I was
real young, and I wasn’t able
to afford getting paid by the
month. I could have been
hired then, but I refused it. So
then, four and a half years
ago, the same opportunity
came up and I took advantage
of it, and that’s how I got
back.
Do you feel a lot has changed
since you've been here?
Oh yeah. It’s a whole lot
better than what it was back
then.
Could you elaborate?
Well, the equipment we
work with. And the staff; I
think the staff is a whole lot
better. You know, you have a
lot more unity.
What do you think about the
kids here?
Oh, there are some beau
tiful kids. Real smart, real
smart. And I enjoy seeing
them everyday, and being with
them everyday. Good kids...
Right.
What was your favorite sub
ject in high school?
You wouldn’t believe
this! It was RE., because it
was so much fun, and no
stress. You know what I
mean?
Yeah, I saw that you said, in
our Survival Guide, that you
enjoy sports.
Yeah, I used to play bas
ketball at Jordan.
Do you keep track of the bas
ketball team here?
Oh yeah. Over the last
few years they haven’t had a
great season, but they still put
out an effort to win, so I still
support them.
You like any other sports?
I like football, but I don’t
like to play it; I like to watch
it. Also, I like baseball. I like
to play a little baseball, soft-
ball.
Do you like the color on
Ground Reynolds right now?
Yeah... I like that. It
brightens up the place, you
know? Instead of that dull
gray. I also like all the new
changes that are coming.
You mean, the construction
changes?
Yeah, construction. And
we’ve got a new plant facility
director, and I think he’s a
very good person to work
with.
What are the plans for that, do
you know?
I don’t know right off. I
haven’t gotten those details
yet.
So, you went to Jordan High
School, and now you’re at
NCSSM, so how long have you
been in Durham?
All my life; forty-five
years. I think if I went any
where else, I probably would
n’t know how to act, you
know, because I’m so used to
this right here. If I went to the
big city, it would take me so
long to adjust to it. I’m what
you’d call a “down south ol’
country boy.”
Have you ever wished that you
could travel somewhere else?
Hopefully in the near
future I’ll get an opportunity
to do some traveling.
You ’re from
school, right?
Jordan high Lester Alston and Dr. Richard Alston: See the resemblance?
Dhruti Patel
Where would you like to go?
I’d love to go to Florida,
Hawaii, Arizona; places like
that.
You wouldn’t happen to have
any pets, would you?
No, coming up as a kid, I
didn’t have too much good
luck with dogs. My dogs
always ended up getting hit.
That’s the only pet I’ve ever
really cared for, is a dog.
Ok, so this is blatantly trying
to make a connection between
you and Dr. Richard Alston,
but he really loves Bob Dylan,
so we were wondering if...
Oh, you wouldn’t believe
this, I like Bob Dylan! In high
school, there used to have this
radio station, WQDR, out of
Raleigh, and they used to play
all that type of music. But I
like Bob Dylan, I still do.
He’s awesome... He makes a
lot of sense.
Do you have any advice for
the students here?
Once you get the oppor
tunity to come here, stay
alert, and stay focused, and
you’re going to go some
where in life. That’s a guar
antee. Because you’ve got
some beautiful instructors,
and they’re here with their
hands out to help you if you
want to go somewhere in
life. And most kids that
come here, they’ve got a
good head. Lots of book
sense. So, they can’t go
wrong if they want the prop
er amount of support; it’s
here for them.
Dr. Richard Alston
Annafrancesca Fuchs
T Tow long have you been at
11 NCSSM?
Four years. Feels like
forty.
How did you wind up here?
I came here from Duke
University where I was the
director of a program for
molecular biology, which is
a sequencing analysis facili
ty. I was there from the early
90s to just prior to coming
here.
How has NCSSM changed in
the time you’ve been here?
The students are dumber,
and the staff is much smarter.
Your bio in our Survival
Guide mentions that you
enjoy the poetry of Bob
Dylan. Do you have a
favorite verse?
“Steal a little and they
throw you in jail, steal a lot
and they make you king.”
That’s from the song
“Sweetheart Like You.”
How did you become so com
puter savvy?
Who’s spreading rumors
about my ersatz savviness?
But, assuming the point...
I did my dissertation on
sequencing analysis tech
niques. ... What I was doing
with computers was writing
modeling programs and look
ing at the ways these mRNA
molecules folded into thfee-
dimensional space, and seeing
what those relationships were
vis-a-vis the structure of the
ribosome. And one couldn’t
do this in vitro, one couldn’t
do this in the test tubes, so I
had to model it. And that’s
how I headed down the slip
pery slope of using computers
as a major research tool.
And at the university
then, I was initially working
with the research groups there
in molecular biology, and,
like everything at Duke, it is
the Medical Center that pays
the bills and like a black hole
sucks in all material wander
ing by too closely. I got too
close and by the time I left
there, I was working with
clinical operations. I had just
designed the meds order data
base in the cancer center. The
pressure was too much; I did
n’t like the idea of being
responsible for prescribing all
these poisons to people and
wondering how it was turning
out, so that’s why I made the
decision to come here.
But more than that, when
I was at Duke, and working
with the molecular bio pro
gram, we worked with many
students from Science &
Math through the mentorship
program. And so, I knew
about the school from that, I
knew about the quality of the
students from the school, so
when it came time to make a
change, it seemed like the nat
ural decision. What was the
question again?
"Why are you so computer
savvy? ”
Oh, yeah. Right, right.
So, was your research suc
cessful? Did your model
prove useful?
Yeah.
Well ... no.
It was an abysmal bit of
research, actually. There
were some general conclu-
See “Alstons,”
Page 5