Where I went to college in 1984

Freshmen Academic Honors I received in May 1985.

After graduating from high school in 1984, I went off to college at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. My original majors were going to be broadcast journalism and political science (I wanted to be a radio news reporter/announcer). I was on the campus radio station as a DJ and announced news my first year of college.

But I found the political science classes a bit dull and liked working with the people at the campus newspaper (which I also participated in during my first year of college), so I switched my majors to print journalism and English! Then I added an education degree to it so I could be a teacher.

I lived in the dormitory Hathorn Hall my first and second years of college. Then  I spent the next two years in the upperclassman's Prucha Hall dormitory and my final year lived off campus across the street from the college.

I had lots of fun at college and achieved many things there; I'll tell you more about them in future entries!

Why you should go to college

As you begin school this week, you're starting a long journey in your formal education. I hope that I've already instilled in you that you'll go to college, but just in case years from you you must ask the question "Should I go to college?" and I'm not there, my answer is "Yes!"

I can give you all of the tried and true reasons to go to college, such as "You'll earn more money with a college education"; "You can't find a good job without a college education"; or "The girls alone are worth it!" But really the main reason to go to college is to take a few years to explore the world in depth and by doing so to learn about yourself.

We never really stop growing as individuals, but college can give you lots of different experiences - through what you read, by meeting other people, via exploring all that you can learn through the arts - that'll you'll never get anywhere else, especially once you start working and raising a family. These experiences will help you answer lots of difficult questions about ourselves, such as "Who am I?"; "What's my purpose?"; and "What do I really want to do in life?"

You may not find all the answers, but the journey an educational environment like college offers will help you come closer to figuring it all out. So give it a try - I bet you'll enjoy it!