Neither of my parents were educated beyond high school. My mother didn’t work outside the home. My father was a one-man electrical contractor. He died unexpectedly at 44. I was 13.
My mother took it on herself to ensure all her children went to college. After Dad died, she took a clerical job but found scholarship money available to help us attend college.
I was the youngest and had good grades in math and science. She told me I was going to Clarkson. I didn’t know what or where Clarkson was, but she apparently did.
This ended up being a great choice for me. I had a successful career and personal life.
Based on the following, unbeknownst to me, I ended up being a role model. Six more families have or are now attending Clarkson. Two start this fall.
Tony’s involvement with my son, Mike, got the ball rolling, however. Mike was lost with respect to selecting a college. We visited several but nothing clicked. I finally asked him what he really liked in high school. Once he told me math and science so I mentioned engineering and asked if he wanted to consider Clarkson.
Through a Clarkson friend, we met with Tony, Dean of Engineering at that time. But it was when Tony met with Mike alone that his decision was made. On the way home from that visit, Mike told me he wanted to go to Clarkson.
A cousin joined him his freshman year and later four others have followed.
Tony, thank you for meeting with Mike. Because of you, my family continues on a path of both professional and personal success.
Bob Storms ‘74