While doing her Masters in Law in the early 1990s, Arlene Brock never realised she would be friends with a man who could tomorrow become one of the most powerful people in the world.

Not one to draw attention to her connection with presidential candidate Barack Obama, Ms Brock reflected with The Royal Gazette about her time at Harvard University with the person polls are showing to be on course to be the next United States' president.

Before she met Obama in person she had seen him on the cover of a magazine, for a story on him becoming the president of the Harvard Law Review.

Ms Brock's first encounter with him was when she decided to attempt a class with Roberto Unger, whose law prose she describes as being "hard to read, but exciting to understand".

However, when she walked in a student was raising questions and debating with Unger — that young man was Obama and she thought: "I better not take that class."

It was through the Black Law Students Association that she came in closer contact with the future Illinois Senator.

It was an association, she said, that attracted some brilliant minds.

One member, a Fijian student, left his degree early when he was called to help with the Election Commission in his country.

Another founded a newspaper and wrote two books of poetry. One other, Cassandra Butts, is now serving as Obama's domestic policy adviser.

Ms Brock was the first black lawyer in the top four corporate law firms in Toronto before starting her Masters at Harvard, before eventually returning to Bermuda to be the Island's Ombudsman.

However, surrounded by this intelligence and drive, Ms Brock said Obama stood out among the rest and she would place him in the same level as Nelson Mandela.

She said: "In a field of incredible people, Barack was easily the most brilliant. He was very busy as the President of the Law Review, his own studies and the association.

"Whenever we were in his presence or had a conversation it was clear he had an understanding beyond his years.

"Apparently he worked really hard and studied a lot. He was extraordinary. He was not the type of person who speaks or makes decisions without thinking beforehand. Everyone understood that he was incredible.

"When you are in a conversation with him it was like a game of chess. He was already several steps ahead in the conversation.

"As an adult and with his previous work in organisations he became aware of the big problems in the world. He is just aware that you have to give back.

"He would be a great president. I would put him on the same page as (Nelson) Mandela. The only reason he is not in the same paragraph is because of experience.

"He's confident without being an egomaniac. It's easy to have a conversation with him if he doesn't know the subject because otherwise he will just walk over you.

"But he's down to earth. He was a very serious person when I met him. My sense is that his wife was able to bring the lighter side out of him."

Ms Brock, who was friendly enough with Obama to invite him to her birthday party, also attended a conference in 2000 with Obama and sat at the same table.

Little did she know sharing with him during that conference stories about her newborn daughter and his first baby girl, however, that he would soon run an election that could be historic for America.

"I think it's obvious it's historic. It doesn't mean things change right away, that people's views change or institutionalised problems change right away.

"In terms of race it took 400 years of invidious slave system to get to this so it's not going to take November 4 to change all of that."

Furthermore, she believes the way she has watched Obama's election campaign unfold and the work he did prior to it in charitable organisations, he could well be on his way.

"He has consistently made choices to use his own personal gifts to do something useful. Believing that 'To Whom much is given, much is expected'," she said.

"You only have to be in his presence to know this. He is just a decent human being; just a good human being.

"What he does, he does because he cares. He easily could have gone the 'Make the Money Route'. I thought he would go the Supreme Court route or the Secretary General of the United Nations.

"But you knew he was going to make history. That he was going to impact the world. He has jut run a brilliant campaign. He has maintained fairness and an integrity."