(7/1/'07) How did you happen to choose Tech? I suppose each one of us has a different story about how he or she happened to choose Tech, and I'll bet that most of our reasons were not based upon any kind of scientific analysis. For me it was a matter of goofing off in study hall. It was 1956 and I was a senior at Indiana High School in Indiana, Pennsylvania. I had a study hall in the school library and that particular day I came in a bit late. There was already some activity going on at the table that I shared with several others. The activity seemed to be centered around two of my associates: Zippy Zbur and Lulu Laterza - nether one noted for his academic accomplishments. They seemed to be amusing themselves, as well as the others, by selecting college bulletins, reading or pretending to read something about the college and then proclaiming, “This is where I'm going to college”. This was usually followed by laughter. Lulu got some laughs when he pulled out a Harvard bulletin, waved it in the air and announced, “Harvard University School of Brain Surgery and Rocket Science - this is where I'm going”. Zippy countered with a bulletin from Vassar, announcing, “Vassar College for Women - that's for me”. They both had a great time with a bulletin from Bowling Green. Being late put me at a definite disadvantage and my competitive nature required that I come up with something quickly. Lulu had just discovered a bulletin for Beaver College and it looked like a sure winner. It appeared that Zip and Lulu were simply pulling out bulletins at random, so in order to make up ground quickly I decided on a more systematic approach - a geographic approach. To me, at that time, Alaska and New Mexico were the most remote and inaccessible parts of the U.S. and would be the least likely places for a kid from Pennsylvanian to attend college. The Alaska bulletins were located on the top shelf, which I couldn't reach without standing up, but the New Mexico bulletins were more conveniently located. There were two fairly thick bulletins and one very thin one - little more than a pamphlet. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, A HAH! I had a winner! I didn't even have to make stuff up - I just read from the bulletin: “an enrollment of 140 students”, “located along the Rio Grande”, “city of Socorro with 5,000 inhabitants”. Everyone at table 21 laughed. I got more laughs when I discovered a tear out application sheet and proceeded to fill it out. The laughing continued as I got a stamp and envelope from the librarian and dropped the application in the mail slot.

Then I forgot about it. I had already made plans to do the only thing that my parents could afford - live at home and attend Indiana State Teachers College, a local college with about 1500 students. Tuition was free. Most of my high school friends were doing the same. It would be like a continuation of high school.

It all came back to me a few weeks later when I received a letter from NMIMT. It complemented me on my academic record and my fine letters of recommendation and stated that I had been accepted for admission in the fall of 1956. It also mentioned that I was eligible for an academic scholarship and if I wished further consideration I would need to write a letter telling about myself - what were my likes and dislikes, what were my ambitions, etc. I fully intended to ignore this letter except that my father discovered it. He asked if I had written the letter for scholarship consideration. I said, “No. I've decided to stay home and attend ISTC with my friends”. I think it was the “I've decided to stay home” part that caught his attention because he ordered me to sit down and write the letter.

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink” was what I was thinking as I sat down to write the letter. I tried to address each of the requested points - likes, dislikes, ambitions, etc. - but what I wrote was total stream of consciousness. I told about Pogo Possum, trapping muskrats, my dog chasing groundhogs - just whatever came to mind. I do remember writing that my ambitions were to become a scientist, discover something new and write a book about it. When I finished, I folded the letter, placed it in an envelope, said, “OK Dad, I'm finished” and mailed it.

A few weeks later I received a letter from Tech informing me that I had been awarded a full tuition scholarship that would be renewed each year for as long as I stayed in good academic standing. By this time I had read more about Tech and had given it more serious consideration. I accepted their offer and began to look forward to attending Tech in the fall.

I wasn't on campus very long before I was stopped by a fellow freshman, Billy Long. Billy was from Socorro - in fact his father was a member of the math faculty. Billy asked, “You're from Pennsylvania, aren't you?” I said, “Yes. Why?” Billy continued, “Do you like Pogo Possum and have a dog that chases groundhogs?”



“Yes. Why?”

“Then you must be the one.”

“The one what?”

“One day last summer I was walking through the basement of Brown Hall and I heard all this laughter coming from one of the rooms, so I went in to see what was so funny. The people there were reading letters from students seeking scholarships and they were reading one from someone in Pennsylvania who liked Pogo Possum and had a dog that chased groundhogs. They decided to give him a scholarship to get him out here so they could see what he looked like.”

I ran into Zip's brother the other day and asked about Zippy. His brother said that Zip's brother-in-law had connections in Detroit and the two moved there and entered the trash collecting business. Zip was able to retire at a young age by selling the business for a couple million dollars. He now owns a ranch in Montana and a winter home in Florida. Lulu started his own real estate business in which he was moderately successful and passed away about ten years ago.

How did you happen to choose Tech?