My College Story Part 1

S will be going to college in the next 3 years! Only three years!! We have been preparing her for as long as I can remember. When she was in 7th grade she was in a talent search (sponsored by Duke University) and took an ACT test. When I was her age I wasn't at all planned. In fact, I can remember taking my ACT test.

It was my senior year at my HS. I remember in was in October of '72. I wanted to just "get it over with" and take the test. I didn't study. I just wanted to get back home and watch the World Series that year. I was heavy into baseball much like I am into basketball now. So my concentration wasn't in that test at all. I remember that I had to put three different colleges that I might attend so I could send my scores out to those schools. Well I put Hutch Jr. College (the college in town), then KU and K-State (why? I have no idea!).

My parents wanted me to go to Hutch as it was in town and they didn't have to pay for dorm expenses. I went there for a year majoring in Broadcasting. Then in April of '74 my Broadcasting teacher died and things weren't the same. I switched majors to History and decided to go to Emporia State.

That summer while I was taking an Economics class I fell in love (or in very heavy like) of a guy in my class. He lived in my town and here I was going off to Emporia. Every weekend I would go home just to see him. We really never dated but it was great to meet up with him on main street. Sometimes we would talk and once he helped me learn how to drive a stick shift car.

At Emporia my academic life and friend life was pretty bad. I lived in a dorm called "Twin Towers," the girls had the South tower and the guys were in the North tower. Or so that was the way it was supposed to be. It wouldn't be uncommon to see guys walking around on my floor with just a towel on at all hours of the day. My roommate was nice, but she wasn't a thing like me. Once she came back and bragged how her and her friends took a yield sign off a pole. There it was in our room all right. Then she would come into the room saying, "MB the room is spinning, make it stop." Wonderful. Not!

There was one girl whom I did hang out with, again someone who was definitely different. She had a centerfold of Burt Reynolds hanging above her bed. We both would try out for the women's basketball team. That was the first year that women's basketball wouldn't be just an intramural sport. But during one of the practices I wrecked my knee thus ending my short basketball career!

I took classes and did quite poorly in them. I did take two classes (a music class) and a quiz out in math class. I was glad that I went to E-State then just because I wouldn't have to take any more math classes the rest of my life! Then I took an American History Class. I really didn't like that class (even though it was my major). I didn't care for the teaching assistant or the prof of that class. I didn't like answering the questions because I was shy and my reading skills were pretty bad as well.

While I was at E-State, my mom suggested that I should go to Sterling College. She said that would be a nice, close school and maybe things would work out well there.

So I transferred back to Juco. Taking a reading class which helped tremendously in study skills and improved my vocabulary as well. Repeated an English Lit. class and doing even better than E-State. I was back home seeing my "friend" and I was happy!

When Sterling College reps came out to Juco, I met the registrar then (I think, Steve Brown) and he said that I should visit out there. Once I got on campus, a history student named Gabrielle showed me around and then I sat in on a Dr. Belk's class. I liked the way that S. C. had recruited me. I felt wanted and people were nice, afterall it was a Presbyterian school (like I was at the time).

Some people were nice but others...to be continued in part 2.