There was a fascinating story about how Reb Vosner zt”l became enrolled in Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin (The First) in the first place. If anybody knows the details, please post them.
It went something like this: To get into Chachmei Lublin, a bochur would have to know 400 blatt gemara ??? ??. Young Shmuel Vosner was not ‘settled’ wherever he was, and was nothing near the 400 required. Nevertheless, he decided that the only way he would be able to shteig would be in the famous Lublin Yeshiva. When he arrived, Reb Meir Shapira zt”l was away. The Mashgiach at the time farhered him, and explained him that he wouldn’t make it. He was not welcome at Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin.
Somehow, through some ‘Hand of Fate’, dejected Shmuel Vosner met an old man at the train station, while waiting to journey back home. The old man got involved with him in conversation – and I forget the details, but it turned out to be R’ Meir Shapira himself and was impressed by something Shmuel Vosner said, and bought him back to Yeshiva.
The rest, as they say, is History…