While still living and working in the Chicago area, I was accepted
as a charter student at SSU. My higher education had begun right after
high school graduation in 1961. I attended the University of Illinois -
Chicago which was located at Navy Pier. After one year there, I entered
the U.S Army and served for almost five years including a tour of duty
in Vietnam. After my return, I worked and attended school on a part
time basis going to the Chicago Community College and a private college.
My desire was to save enough money to attend the university full time
and finish my degrees. Since this new university was just beginning, my
expectations were not exceptionally high for the looks of the campus
when I first visited it in the spring of 1970. Unfortunately, it fell
well below my hopes. My car got stuck in the mud in the corn field
while I viewed what appeared at a distance to be quonset huts being
constructed - flashbacks to jungle living occurred. It was my good
fortune that I endured because not only did I receive a first class
education but I also came to understand that the setting does not have
to have splendid grandeur for the learning process to succeed. Many
insights were gained in the classrooms, in nearby pizza parlors, and, on
occasions, during after class meetings in other adult establishments in my years at SSU.
Dan Schram