[AT] Old trains/now NC State foolishness

[David Bruce]

I was reasonably qualified but also being from a smaller school I didn't 
have the advantages of many advanced classes or the best of teachers in 
all subjects - especially in science and math.  Some how I scored well 
on the PSAT (no doubt I had a great day) and as a result received a 4 
year scholarship from Western Electric (AT&T) because my dad worked 
there along with the score on the test.  That scholarship made it 
possible for me to get a 4 year degree and was a a major event in my life.
So that required some study to overcome.  I did have an advantage by 
living in Metcalf dorm - part of some special program that provided some 
preference in class sections and some help sessions specifically for 
Metcalf residents. 
I did learn very quickly that it was up to me to sink or swim.  A few 
professors actually tried to teach - most viewed teaching as a necessary 
evil to accomplish before heading to the lab. 
A few years later I was part of a team that hired some of the Textile 
faculty for consulting work - quite a difference when you hold the purse 
strings <g>.

I'll have to say after working in industry for many years I learned a 
lot of what I know from the people I worked with.  The academic 
foundation provided the framework to understand what I was later taught 
but in no way did that 4 year degree make me qualified to do anything by 
itself.  Beyond all that the smartest man I ever knew was my grandpa - 
2nd grade education and all.  Don't get me wrong education is a 
wonderful thing BUT one can have all the "book learnin" in the world but 
without that practical experience it is wasted.

David
NW NC

charliehill wrote:
> David,  that Chem 101 class had more people than in my high school 
> graduating class by a factor of about 4 or maybe 5.  I knew right off I was 
> in trouble so I went to one of the "help sessions" the grad students held. 
> I never got to talk to anyone.  There was a line and at the head of the line 
> were some "smart" kids that were having a nerd session with the grad 
> students about the extra credit problems at the end of the problem book. 
> The day my mom took me up to State talk to the admissions folks, the guy 
> looked at my high school records and told me he was going "do me a favor" 
> and go ahead and enroll me in the school of engineering as a freshman.  It 
> took me several years to figure it out but now there is no doubt in my mind 
> that he was a bald face liar and he knew full well he was sending me to 
> certain failure.
>
> Charlie
>   
>