The start of a beatuiful relationship
College at last! Finally I am at Wabash preparing for classes to start and getting into the swing of things with this blog. I am using this opportunity to talk about my freshman experience and with that said lets get into the good, the bad, and the potentially ugly.
The good: I have found my home away from home. I have accepted a bid at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. So far my experience has been very interesting from meeting all of my pledge brothers to celebrating my birthday on campus; time here has been awesome so far.
The bad: Orientation so far to me has been fairly boring to put it simply. The info sessions about the Career Center and the Library were actually interesting because without instruction I probably would not have known about the services they offer students.
And the potentional ugly: So far I know I am the only student from Rhode Island in the freshman class. As a matter of fact I am the only student in the freshman class from New England. This is great because I can share what my area of the country is like. The only downside is the fact that I have to constantly tell people of how I came in contact with Wabash College. So lets get the record straight because I cant keep telling my story.
I became aware of Wabash when a friend of mine added me to the schools mailing list as a joke in late February. At that time I really wasn’t looking to apply to any more colleges since I had already applied to 17. I received a call from Marc Welch from the admissions office one late February night urging me to apply with the incentive that my application wouldn’t cost me anything. In addition to that I also got the feeling he wouldn’t let me go if I didn’t agree to apply. I applied that night, accepted a week later, and visited the school a week after that for Honors Scholar weekend. So yes, some might say I may have fallen for Wabash a little hard and a little late in the season but everything happens for a reason.
I can not wait to blog about all my interesting endeavors through out my freshman year. I know this year will be a positive and action pact one so stay tuned to read about the amazing adventures of Andre Adeyemi!
Comments
I'm always glad to see people from outside IN and IL at Wabash, which seemed to draw more widely in my era. (My parents lived in MD, NYC, and CT during my time at Wabash.)
Posted by: James (Jim) Carroll, '65 | August 31, 2008 10:46 PM
Dear Andre,
all the best for your start in college life and at the Beta house! You've made to very good choices!
I look forward to reading your comments throughout the year.
with best regards,
Jared Sonnicksen '01
Posted by: Jared Sonnicksen | September 1, 2008 05:57 AM
Andre:
Welcome to Wabash and Beta Theta Pi. I especially appreciate your perspective from New England. My mother grew up in Boston and spoke of New England often and with deep appreciation. I was raised in West Lafayette and used to "hitch-hike" north from C'Ville, and take the Monon train south from Lafayette...for $1.25. That train left Chicago, came thru Gary, Crown Point and south. It stopped in Lafayette (Purdue), Crawfordsville, Greencastle (???), Bloomington (Indiana) and on to Louisville. There were dozens on college students on the train on Sunday afternoons.
I will look forward to your blogs, and to meeting you on the weekend of 9/19 & 20 when I am on campus for the Class Agent Forum.
good luck & study hard.....J B Wabash 1961 T #875
Posted by: John B. Bachman | September 1, 2008 09:31 AM
Wabash 1974 Beta. Good Luck.
Posted by: Carl J Winkler III | September 1, 2008 04:40 PM
Please keep me on your list of addressees. I pledged Beta 61 years ago and am interested in your pledge experience and early courses of study.
Don't expect to hear from me as I am now a poor correspondent and will be away from home a good part of the time. Best wishes for a rewarding experience at Wabash.
Posted by: Roger Parsell | September 1, 2008 06:46 PM
Andre:
Welcome to Wabash and to Beta Theta Pi. I pledged Beta some 55 years ago and found that this was an important part of my overall learning experience at Wabash. Both Wabsh and Beta will be lifelong experiences for you. Not to be too parocial, I think the overall fraternity experience at Wabash is most valuable. I have many friends from many Wabash classes who were in different fraternities or were part of the independent experience there. Please keep me on your list for the next year.
Bob Hobson, '57
Posted by: Bob Hobson | September 2, 2008 03:04 PM
Andre,
Thanks for sharing your experience, and good luck with your studies. I am a Tau Beta alum '84, and now live in the NYC burbs. I hope that Wabash has more geographic (and ethnic) diversity these days. I am deeply appreciative that WabCol taught me how to think and express myself, and hope that now there is more diversity in experience being represented there.
All the best.
Posted by: Daniel Piatek | September 4, 2008 12:40 PM
Andre,
Best of luck with the challenges ahead. We will keep a keen eye on your progress. Also, welcome to our house...I am sure you will enjoy the Beta brotherhood as much as I did!
All the best
Posted by: Brian Castle '01 | September 8, 2008 10:08 AM
Andre,
Congrats on pledging Beta Theta Pi! You made a good choice. Tell everyone at the house I said hello.
Posted by: Brandon Stewart '08 | September 8, 2008 11:46 PM