eginning with the vacation and continuing through to the present day, Martha Anderson, “continues to thank God every day” for the blessings bestowed on her family through the “Extreme Makeover” experience. The family fields telephone calls from well-wishers throughout the country. Mrs. Anderson keeps the front door open, and a continuous stream of neighbors and friends trickles through the home. Family members take visitors proudly through each room, showing off special “Extreme Makeover” features (lowered stoves, specially designed showers) and electronic extras (gym equipment, whirlpool) that make Rodney’s life easier. “Hi, Rodney,” one man says. “Congratulations! You’re a celebrity now.”

But as happy as they are in their home—they make a point of saying how much Cal State Fullerton has meant to them, and not just Fullerton’s basketball program.

Following the shooting, Rodney Anderson and his mother became minor celebrities on the Cal State Fullerton campus. She drove him to school in a specially equipped van every day. In between classes, she slept in the van, sometimes reading books and magazines given to her by a thoughtful parking attendant whose name she cannot recall. Several different campus police officers often checked on her whereabouts and safety, she says. One faculty member opened her home in between classes so that Mrs. Anderson could rest while Rodney studied.

In fact, it would be difficult to find two people more deeply connected to Fullerton, more in tune with the university and its mission. They both miss coming to campus each day, although they travel to all the home basketball games weekly or biweekly.

“Everyone from the President on down has been wonderful, the coaches, the teachers and the students,” Martha Anderson said. “Fullerton has been a home away from home for us, the people there are like family to us.”

Rodney Anderson—who plans to pursue a career working with at-risk youth in Los Angeles—agrees. He will either begin social work within the next few months or return to graduate school at Fullerton.

“I would go back and do it all again,” he says. “We are thankful for every person who’s come into my life, all the connections I’ve made. I have lifelong friends and I’m grateful for the experience.”

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Rodney Anderson, above, marries his longtime girlfriend, Monique, in a candlelight ceremony. Below, the Anderson family greets well-wishers as they stop by to see the new homes.