Sentence:  Fortunately , although only <WSD>a</WSD> few years ago they held the student at arms length , today the business houses welcome the opportunity to aid the student , not only from an increased sense of community responsibility but also from the realization that the student of today is the interior designer of tomorrow - that the student already is `` in the trade '' . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  more than one but indefinitely small in number