[Big T]

Eagle will sympathize with me on this! Yesterday, I went to my old alma mater, Penn State, to take our youngest daughter Christmas shopping (she will graduate this spring). 50 years ago, I began my college education at PSU, during the same time of the years (it was trimester then, semester now). In those 50 years, I became a PSU grad, as did my wife, our older two daughter (soon our youngest) and our two son-in-laws. It seems almost every one of those 50 years, we either had someone enrolled, or one of us were taking post grad classes.

Only member of our family that isn't a PSU grad, is our beagle, although she is a rescue dog, coming from, of all places, Nittany Beagle Rescue!

 

[Oldsarge]

The institutions differ but the sentiments remain. At UC Riverside I met my wife and we had my daughter. Neither child chose to go there but the place remains Holy Ground.

 

[Big T]

The institutions differ but the sentiments remain. At UC Riverside I met my wife and we had my daughter. Neither child chose to go there but the place remains Holy Ground.

As I've posted, including son in laws, we're all Penn State, and come this May, unless daughter #3 decides not to get her master's, this will be the first time in 50 years that a member of our family was not enrolled, as a undergrad or graduate degreed student.

State College looks vastly different than my first day there. Mid and high rise buildings have taken over the downtown. The campus has expanded in all directions. My absolute favorite place, was Pattee Library, both for studying and just having anything and everything I ever wanted to read at my fingertips.

 

[eagle2250]

Penn State will forever hold a special place in my heart. I'm not really sure if it was the Wagner (ROTC) Building or the Creamery Store where I invested my greatest effort(s), but I entered my freshman year as a man child and graduated four years later, a man. Four years further down the road the guys in my Unit were calling me the "old man"and I was putting what I had learned at Penn State to good use. Four or five years later I thought I had it all worked out to return to Penn State as an Air Force ROTC Instructor and re-centering my life around Wagner Building. Alas, the assignment back to to PSU fell through and I found myself at Mississippi State University as an AF ROTC instructor. Bottom line, try as I might over the intervening 50 years I couldn't convince our kids or as yet, any of our Grand kids to go to Penn State. However, our oldest Granddaughter is a freshman at Mississippi State University, so apparently at least she listened to at least one of my old war stories! Her 84 year old pschology professor claimed to remember me. LOL.

 

[Vecchio Vespa]

While I hold treasured memories (and bitter ones) of my alma maters, I have not returned to any since graduation with the exception of Willamette University College of Law. I walked the grounds but could muster no interest in going inside. My daughter has, thus far, obtained two degrees in Texas, and that is far more precious to me. My father and grandfather attended USNA, but since I broke that string, it feels very removed. Ditto for familial ties elsewhere. I envy those with such ties.

 

[Big T]

Well, my “bittersweet memories” are officially delayed for a year or so! Our youngest daughter (the last of our Penn State crew, that earned her BS this past May), decided to pursue her masters. Long story short, took a ride to PSU about ten days ago, received her acceptance in to Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, for her MBA!