Back on Campus
Conversations with alums about what BU meant — and still means
| Video by Devin Hahn and Chris Maggio (COM'08); text by Bari WalshGet the Flash Player to see this media.
Click above to watch a video of alumni reminiscing about their BU experiences.
Each Boston University student crafts a distinct experience, and the chance to chart your own path is one of the joys of studying on a large and multidisciplinary campus. But when Bostonia gathered a group of alumni at Reunion & Alumni Weekend last month to ask them what BU means in their lives, the story lines converged in ways that defied the stereotype of this university as a place that’s too big to foster a real sense of community or collegiate tradition.
The alums told us that BU is the place where they met their best friend or their spouse. It is the place where they first realized they could achieve their goals or the place that first tested them beyond what they thought they could handle. In its diversity, it is the place that showed them what the world looked like and started them thinking about what impact they wanted to make on that world. And it’s the place that houses all those memories: the Dugout, the Pub, Warren, West, commuting by T, afternoons on the Beach, and the professors who made a difference.
As one alum put it, summing up what others implied, BU meant (and means) opportunity — intellectual, social, professional. Over the years and the generations, it comes down to that.
Print: 
Share:
Email: 
Twitter
Facebook
Comments
On Friday, 11/14/2008 at 10:28pm, Craig Howard (ENG'92) wrote:
I loved my time at BU. Some of the best opportunities I availed myself of were being a manager of the men's basketball team under Rick Pitino my freshman and sophomore years(yes, it still impresses men I meet) and living in Spain for a semester through New York University (and still graduating on time with the credit transfers.) The most lasting thing is the friendships I made - roommates Jill (Goodman) Gerlin ('82), Evelyn (Alvero) Rosetti ('84), and should-a-been-a-roommate Alicia (Gordon) Klein ('85). I loved walking down Bay State Road when I visited recently. That street looks (and feels) the same. I lived in Shelton for a year and a half and at 139 BSR for a year. I am now beginning to enjoy alumni events in the Washington, DC area as I meet other alum. Life is good!
On Friday, 11/14/2008 at 5:46pm, Victor Price (SMG'78) wrote:
These are the same thoughts that came to mind when I was reading the comments made by former students attending the reunion. BU, specifically CBS, challenged my intellect in a way that sparked my interests in Humanity, Sociology and Rhetoric. Prior to CBS I had no idea that these educational endeavors would awake a curiousity in me.I found that I could be what I wanted to be. My world had opened up! After BU, I was employed at M.I.T.as a computer operator working with Dr. P.P. Lele, and later at Wang Labs and Lotus (Now IBM). I am currently a senior staff member at a small software company in Princeton, NJ.
On Friday, 11/14/2008 at 5:26pm, Chuck Tarver (COM'75) wrote:
What a great video. It spoke to many of my feelings about BU. I'm now a small business owner after spending more than 30 years working in education. I can honestly say, BU prepared me well.
On Friday, 11/14/2008 at 10:53am, Barbara A Lee (CAS'59) wrote:
Someone at Boston University had enough confidence in me, in the spring of 1955, to award a four-year, full-tuition scholarship, without which I could never have gone to college. (Tuition was $600 in 1955-56, $1000 in 1958-59--a huge sum in those days.) Because of that, I have Boston University to thank for my subsequent career as a lawyer, judge and teacher. The University was less well known then than it is today, but academic standards were excellent and the student body was extremely diverse. There were commuters from all over Massachusetts, Korean War vets, international students from many countries (BU was one of the first large universities to welcome them in significant numbers), and people from all those groups who became my friends for life. The Charles River campus was not yet complete in the 50's; a converted boathouse was "the Commons" where we gathered for lunch, coffee breaks and endless conversation. I hope the conversation is still going on. I am immensely grateful to have been part of it.
Post Your Comment