I met Elijah Cummings when he was a student leader at the high school I had attended. Elijah convinced the administrators to induct me into the school's Hall of Fame, even though I was much younger than all the other inductees. Afterward, Elijah went to Howard University, where he followed in my footsteps by becoming the student government president, as I had been seven years earlier. He then attended the University of Maryland Law School, where I was teaching at the time. We remained good friends and political allies throughout his life. It was an honor to join President Clinton and President Obama in speaking at Elijah's funeral.