Grad School at the
U of A
Grad School at the
U of A
After Penn State, there was nothing to do but get a degree so I could get a job! Computers were it and I liked it. The University of Arizona was just into the third year of a program call Management Information Systems. I applied, they accepted and then all I had to do was get there, find a place to stay, since dorms were not available for grad students, and catch up with my classmates.
The First Year
First things first-- where can I stay? At first, I needed a geography lesson on Arizona. I had told my brother, who was still living in Phoenix at the time, that I could come live with him. He asked were I was going to school and I said 'Some place that starts with a 'T''. Unfortunately, two of Arizona's schools are in cities that begin with 'T'-- Arizona State in Tempe and The University of Arizona in Tucson. Well he's near Tempe and I find out I'm going to Tucson. Time for plan 'B'.
Thinking it was time to take advantage of that 'International Fraternity' I had joined, I gave the chapter at Arizona a call. it just so happened they were just moving into a new house and needed people to move in-- I was fifth on the list. Housing-- done.
The next thing was what classes to take. I had been accepted without any problem but I was not as confident in my skills as the school was so I took a few starter classes in math, programming and the sort. Of course, I was also taking some major classes so it was kind of silly.
Finally in August, I fly down to Tucson. My college loans in hand, a place to stay and all registered for school. Thinking I would be in the 'old west' I expected to see everyone in cowboy boots and hats. While there were a few, the university had mostly preppy types. I found out later why. It seems that the U of A was a mecca for Mid-Westerners (Chicago, mostly) who had had enough of the snow and cold. Their parents had been 'snowbirds' for years and had been coming to Tucson for the winter. So, all their kids came to school down here. It was like going to Northwestern without the weather!
So I get to the chapter house and find that the 'house' is really five bungalows, one of which I will share with an undergraduate. It was perfect. A huge patio for parties and a private room/house to study and live in. And add to that it was right across the street from the football stadium and it looked to be a great first year. And it was.
The Second Year
By the second year, I was known to most of my classmates and was helping out the chapter so much the Alumnus Advisor signed me up as chapter consultant. In order to cut down on the out-of-state tuition I had applied for a job at the University in the Spring and got it. When one of the professors saw me he asked why I was 'slinging hash' when I could be teaching a class? I told him I had just started and didn't think I was qualified. He dragged me over to the department head and signed me up as a TA!
So, here I was, one year into learning about computer science, teaching it! Living at the fraternity house and getting paid for it and my tuition was cut to on quarter what it was the previous year! This was great!
Fall semester was busy and I ended up taking the 'cheap way out' and taking an undergrad class for one of my requirements-- no credit but the requirement was completed. Which was a good thing because that was also the semester I took 'Simulation and Modeling'. This was the 'weeder course' for MIS and I almost got caught. I got the 'C' and continued on with my studies-- whew!
So here I am getting ready for my last semester and my advisor asks if I'd like to increase my assistantship from one to two courses? I said, 'Sure, what would I be teaching?' So he tells me I'd be teaching the course I took the undergraduate equivalent of in the previous semester! I guess I must have 'gotten it', since I taught the course and none of the students were the wiser.
It was a great last semester with another TA buddy of mine and I just cruising along and going to school. Oh, yeah, and looking for a job! This was not a good time to be coming out of college. The early '80s were tough all over but new college hires-- yeah, right.
I went to all the seminars, signed up for all the interviews and got nothing-- nada-- zip. So, I went to my advisor and he gave me six names of senior executives in various companies. Again, nothing-- nada-- zip. It looked like I'd be in school forever and even asked about an instructors' position at the University. Wisely, they said they didn't think so but that I could teach the summer classes while I continued to look-- reprieved again.
Just as the last summer session was starting I got a call from one of the companies that had so politely rejected me a few days before. It seems they were looking for people in another divisions and my resume got passed along. So ended my college career and started my career at
Xerox
...