Alexis Bartram/Introduction

"It is with books as with the fire in our hearths; we go to a neighbor to get the embers and light it when we return home, pass it on to others, and it belongs to everyone" -Voltaire

Alexis is easy to overlook, at least in a literal sense. Quite small, she makes up for her lack of physical stature with a towering intellect. There are some, mostly men, who might find that intimidating.

They can die mad about it.

Learning is one of the few things from her childhood Alexis still unabashedly loves. Give her a new subject to master or a new book to read and she'll be your friend. This is quite possibly exacerbated by the fact that she has so few friends. One does not obtain a tenure position at U.Penn before the age of 30 without sacrifice (even if - Alexis freely admits - you've got an unfair start). Now its time to start paying back, she thinks.