Your memories of Wesleyan past and present.

Breakfast at Alpha Delt was more than a meal; it was an event. Carl and Evie were two formidable cooks of Eastern European descent who manned the kitchen and often would throw up their hands over some crazy thing students had done (leaving jello in the oven sticks in my mind). More to the point, they would whip up just about anything a ravenous teenager could desire. Back then I had the appetite to plough throw a stack of pancakes with a fried egg on top, slathered in syrup; potatoes and sausage on the side. Alpha Delt was paradise for a breakfast lover, and there were a few of us who turned up regularly for the treat.

On September 11th, 2001, I was getting dressed in my room in the DKE house, getting
ready to go to my sophomore seminar on Eastern European Jewish History with Magda
Teter. I turned on the television, and saw the devastation of the first tower. I
rushed over to PAC where a group was watching the events unfold on a television in
the hallway. There, I learned about the second plane, and watched the buildings
fall. Looking back, it seems amazing that our class started on time.

I must've visited dozens of colleges while in high school, trying to see where I wanted to go. In visiting Wes for the 2nd of 3rd time, I just sat on Foss Hill, watched a baseball game, and decided, "This is where I'll go." And it was a great decision.

Wow... too many memories to count! Some favorites-rolling around on Foss Hill on beautiful days, digging through the stacks in Olin and the Science Library and finding fascinating things completely unrelated to whatever I was supposed to be researching, looking at the stars through the telescope at Van Vleck Observatory, exploring the tunnels under WestCo, parties at Alpha Delt and Eclectic, the smell of Prometheus' torches and finally, the feeling of walking home from class with my head spinning with completely new ideas and challenging questions.

Does anyone remember the pre-Frosh summer program for ethnic minority students in the 1970s?

The summer of 1972 was a blast! Not only did we spend several weeks of summer with the most committed and progressive teaching staff and administrators, but we became familiar with one of a most beautiful and quiet campus before beginning the bustle of school. This helped forge an engaging and integrated diverse Wesleyan community. What a Wesleyan Experience!

Neville Brothers at Spring Fling on Foss Hill. Playing Hockey for Duke and beating Iona in a first round playoff game. Living in Clark 212 (the boiling point) while the library addition was under construction. Computer Science class with 3 students. A great commencement speaker - not Bill Cosby, Isaac Shongwe.

The mentoring skills of Dr. Joe Webb Peoples, professor of geology while I was a student. He helped me as an immigrant from the Netherland to adjust and learn the American system, to develop a career in geology, and to make it in my chosen profession. He also taught me how to mentor students and professionals, a skill I used to help develop some outstanding leaders in geology while I taught at Illinois, and many professionals in the petroleum industry during structural changein that industry.