04.26.2012
With the Alumni Association getting ready to honor 21 NC State professors next week with the 2012 Faculty Awards, we were wondering about your memories of professors you had during your time on campus.
No matter what your major was, you probably had a professor who you’ll never forget. Maybe it was someone who always managed to crack the class up with a good joke. Maybe you had a professor who became a mentor or an inspiration, either for your career or the way you’ve lived your life.
We’d love to hear your memories of your favorite — or most memorable - NC State professors. Share your stories with us, and we’ll share some of them in the Memories section of the summer issue of NC State magazine.
Feel free to tell your story in the comments section or, if you prefer, send it to us by email at ncstate_editor@ncsu.edu
01.09.2012
The winter issue of NC State magazine is arriving in mailboxes, so we’re hard at work on the spring issue. And we need your help.
We want you to share your memories of your graduation from NC State. How did you celebrate the special day when you went from being a student to an alumnus of NC State? Were you sweating it out in Reynolds Coliseum or waiting your turn in Dorton Arena?
Share your memories in the comments section. We will publish a selection of memories about graduation in the spring issue of the magazine.
01.04.2012
It’s been a mild winter so far, but most of us remember that unexpected snowstorm that may have paralyzed campus but didn’t stop students from having fun. We ran a selection of your memories of snow and ice in the winter issue of NC State magazine, and here are some more that we thought you would enjoy:
My freshman year found me living on the second floor of the field house for Riddick Stadium. One of my roommates was from Miami, Fla., and had never seen snow. That year, 1947-48, there were two 9-inch snows in Raleigh. My Florida roommate and several other classmates spent both nights—all night—out playing in the snow. I stayed in and slept tight.
– Dean Angell ’51
My friends and I built a snowman that was six snowballs high at Wolf Village during the first snow of January 2009. It was the same day as the presidential inauguration. I remember going out early that day to walk around the snow-laden campus with my friends, coming back in to watch the inauguration and warm up, then promptly heading back out to have some more fun in the snow!
– Lara Jazmin ’10
There was a terrible ice storm in Raleigh around December 1967. When the temperature dropped that night it completely shut down traffic. It was dangerous to even walk on it. I was renting a room in a house at Ferndell Lane just behind the Gateway Restaurant on Hillsborough Street. (The house, painted blue, is still there, but the restaurant is gone.) One of my good friends who also rented a room in the house decided to challenge the ice by riding his skateboard down the sidewalk. My roommate and I tried to discourage him but he was a fearless thrill-seeker and off he went. He may have gotten half way down the hill when all of a sudden his skateboard shot out from under him in one direction and he in another. He received a severe cut but was laughing about it. We tried to stop the bleeding and encouraged him to go to the campus infirmary. He recovered quickly but I assure you it did not deter him from his activities. The next morning I tried to walk to class and the ice was so slick I fell down three times before getting there. I have not seen ice that bad since.
After a few months of very cold weather that winter, we finally had a mild day. It sparked a lot of energy among the students, and we were itching to do something outside. Someone came up with the idea of having a shaving cream fight between our dorm (Alexander) and the dorm next door. We challenged them and they enthusiastically accepted. We all lined in front of our respective dorms with shaving cream cans in hand and went at it in the courtyard. We never knew who won because everybody was having so much fun that we started spraying anybody. A photo of the event was captured in the Agromeck. We all had a great time and it was a good clean way to get rid of that burst of energy.
– Jesse Thomas ’67
In the fall of 1958, I was a freshman living in Becton Dormitory. One night in December, an infamously hard chemistry quiz was given in Nelson Hall. A windy blizzard was in progress, accumulating about a foot of snow, but no quizzes were ever canceled because of weather. After the quiz I returned to the dorm where I had to make an inked drawing for my mechanical drafting class the next morning. After trudging through the snow and biting wind, it took quite a while to warm up my fingers so that I could do the drafting assignment. I had no sooner started the drawing than my roommate, who had no drafting assignment, returned from a local tavern where he and his cousin had been celebrating after the chemistry quiz. He had a beer can in hand and, being unsteady, was sloshing it around. I quickly covered my drawing. My room was no place for this task. As I considered what to do, a friend who lived in Bagwell walked in to ask me a question about an assignment in our math class. I ended up taking refuge with this friend and his roommate. (Fortunately, many of the rooms in the quadrangle still contained third beds, which had been occupied for several weeks by sophomores who were waiting to move into the newly completed New Dorm, later named Bragaw Hall. In my friend’s room I completed my drawing and had a peaceful night. The next morning when returning to Becton, I found that the snow on the steps between the Berry basement and the ground in front of Bagwell had been sculptured by the wind in an unusual fashion, showing the ferocity of the storm.
– Tom Buchanan ’62
12.16.2011
It’s graduation time again at NC State. While many people still think of May as the time for graduation, an increasing number of students at NC State are taking part in December graduation ceremonies.
Graduates and their families will gather at the RBC Center at 9 am Saturday for this year’s December graduation ceremonies. Chancellor Randy Woodson will speak and Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will deliver the keynote address. Pachauri earned his master’s degree in industrial engineering and Ph.D.s in industrial engineering and economics at NC State.
Congratulations to the newest NC State alumni!
We’d love to hear your stories about graduation, either your own or that of your children. How did you celebrate the special day when you went from being a student to a graduate of NC State? Were you sweating out in Reynolds Coliseum or waiting your turn in Dorton Arena?
Share your memories with us, and we’ll publish some of them in the spring issue of NC State magazine.
06.29.2011
Photo by Roger Winstead
These days it’s flip-flops and hoodies. But it wasn’t always that casual on campus.
What was in style when you were in college? Give us your stories of what you wore - to class or on a date - during your time at NC State.
We will publish some of your memories in the fall issue of NC State magazine. Please be sure to include your name, the town where you live and the year you graduated from NC State.
05.27.2011
NC State alumni have a long and proud history of answering the call of duty when the United States is at war. The university’s most enduring symbol - the Memorial Bell Tower - was built to honor NC State alumni killed in World War I.
In recognition of Memorial Day, NC State has pulled together a special website and video about the Bell Tower that is worth a look. Even the most ardent NC State supporter is likely to learn something new about the Bell Tower by checking out the website.
We are also hoping you will help us mark this Memorial Day by sharing your stories of military service - either your own or those of someone in your family - with other NC State alumni.
It can be as simple as a tribute to someone who served or a story that you have shared with family and friends. This is a chance to share it with your larger NC State family.
You can post your stories or tributes in the blog comments section. Please include your name and class year.
03.25.2011
We want to tap into some of your favorite memories from your time at NC State.
We’d like you to tell us about your most “educational” summer break experience. Did you spend a summer sweating through summer school? Have an adventure that changed your life? Learn a life lesson from a job or internship, or from a friend or roommate?
Share your memories with us here, and we will publish some of them in the summer issue of NC State magazine.
01.13.2011
The Wake Forest Demon Deacon marries Mr. and Ms. Wuf in Reynolds Coliseum on Feb. 28, 1981. (Photo courtesy of Special Collections, NCSU Libraries)
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, we would like to read how you and your sweetheart met at NC State. Or do you have favorite romantic memories from your time on campus that you would like to share.
Post your romance story here or e-mail us at alumniblog@gw.ncsu.edu.
We will choose one story among the entries and send that submitter an NC State Valentine’s Day gift basket.
03.02.2010
As the editors of an alumni publication, we hear all kinds of stories from Wolfpackers about their time at NC State. Some of the best, we’ve found, are alumni memories of professors. They range from bizarre to inspiring to funny. This one, from Andrew Garland Smith ’48, was too good not to post:
My animal science professor at N.C. State College was taking our class members out to the dairy farm to show us how to judge dairy cows. He had our driver pull over and stop in the area between the dairy farm (where the veterinary school stands now) and Meredith College. He got our attention and said: “Young men, this is where you get your milk (pointing to the dairy farm to the left) and your honey” (pointing to Meredith College to the right).
12.21.2009
What was the most unusual or unforgettable experience you had during spring break, fall break, Thanksgiving Break or winter break? Did you squeeze into a car with eight of your closest friends for a trip to the beach? Were you an out-of-state or international student stuck on campus over the Thanksgiving weekend? Did you find odd jobs or a volunteer project to do?
You can leave your comments on this post or here. And check out our readers’ memories of studying for and taking exams at NC State.
Subscribe