Most people know Dr. Benjamin S. Carson as a world-renowned Johns Hopkins pediatric neurosurgeon. Quite an accomplishment for a man who was nicknamed “dummy” by some mean-spirited fifth-grade classmates. He has come a long way since then ? from Yale to the Medical School of the University of Michigan to Hopkins, where to countless children he is their living angel.

According to its Web site, the Carson Scholars Fund is a nonprofit charity founded in 1994 by Carson and his wife, Candy, “to recognize and reward students who strive for academic excellence and demonstrate a strong commitment to their community.” And recently, at Toby?s Dinner Theatre in Columbia, an “Appreciation Celebration” was held, where supporters, volunteers and board members gathered to cheer Carson?s work and watch a play, which was adapted from a few of his autobiographies.