Roy Returns to Class at University of Minnesota

For the first time since struggling through Calculus 1 in 1987, I found myself in a University of Minnesota classroom on Monday. This time it was in preparation to send my son there.

Aaron's graduation open house was Sunday. One day later my wife and were sitting in on orientation with him at the U. His first reaction to being on campus was a thrill at how many Pokemon he would be able to gather with Pokemon Go on his phone. In fact, that game seemed to be a good icebreaker for him to meet a new friend and made for a good punch line or two from the presenters.

When we ran into Aaron again a few hours later, he looked a little overwhelmed. I remember going through some culture shock myself when I graduated from Hibbing High School and made my way to Minneapolis to attend class.

At that point we were in a classroom in the Bruininks Building getting a presentation from an adviser from the College of Science and Engineering. As he explained the amount of hard work and homework that would be necessary to succeed in the program, I wondered if he was giving us a motivational speech or trying to scare off the students.

I remember a few walks across the Washington Avenue Bridge in the winter that nearly scared me off. I only spent a year the U of M before going off in another direction. Now I was back there hoping my son can finish what he is about to start. Aaron leaves for school in late August. That will leave my wife and I with an empty nest. That might be a culture shock as well.