“So you were a first generation college student”, I asked, getting right
to the point.
“Yep. I was 17 when i entered college. I went to a small college of about
3,000 students called East Stroudsburg because the campus looked
nice on the day I visited”, my dad says with a chuckle.
“Well at least you choose the college for the right reason” I mockingly replied.
“How did grandpa and grandma raise you throughout your time before college?”
“My parents never really pushed hard for academics. They didn't go to college.
If I got on the honor roll, they would be proud, but if i didn’t, they just wouldn't
say anything. They never made me do any homework, especially when I got to
high school because I was considered a man by then.”
“Did they not push you hard because you were already a disciplined student?”
“I did the minimum in high school. Maybe on average 30 minutes per night. I
was in the standard classes, and honestly had no idea what was going on.
I was totally reactionary, just trying to scramble something together at the
time when the work was due.”
This shocked me. I had always thought of my dad as at least semi intelligent.
“What made you want to go to college then? "I asked. It seems you weren't very serious
about school”
“I actually wasn't even sure that I would go to college. It wasn't common in the family.
My uncle, however was a guidance counselor. He advised me to go tour colleges.
I only toured 3, and based my decision off of those three.”
“Well did you enjoy your time at East Stroudsburg? Did you believe it was the correct
choice?”
“It was a huge change in scenery. I got to hang out with my friends all the time, and
live in a dorm with parties going on very commonly.”
“Well since I'm 99% sure you didn't engage yourself in these parties, what did you occupy
your time with?”
“You would be correct" my dad said with a loud laugh. "I preferred pinball as my form of
entertainment” (Keep in mind that my dad is old and this was a while ago). “However, we
quickly ran out of money and had to resort to pingpong since it was much cheaper. Just
had to buy paddles and a ball every once in a while when we broke it.”
“That explains why you are so good at ping pong. Did your study habits increase in
college or was ping pong too much of a time commitment?”
“Ha ha ha” my dad sarcastically laughed. “But no, they they did not. I had studied just
as much as I did in high school. Maybe an hour a day. I didn't know crap in any of my
classes. This carried on for 3 semesters”
“What happened after the third semester?”
“I had received a letter. It said I was on academic probation and said I needed to raise
my GPA or else I would be kicked out of the school.”
“Your GPA had to have been pretty bad! They don't just throw those letters out”
“I had a 2.1 GPA after 3 semesters. The letter caused me to realize I needed a change. By
purely dumb luck one night, a man named Clavin Roberts changed my life. See every night
Calvin --"
“Wait!" I interrupted. "Lets save that for one of my story pages. So anyways I'm guessing you had to
start studying more and playing ping pong less to not flunk out. right"
“Yep. I changed my study habits to every night for around 4 hours. I would no longer just try
and cram right before an exam, but I would study in advance and go over my notes.
All thanks to Calvin Roberts.”
“Did you ever get to thank him for what he did, and tell him what an impact he had on your life?”
“Unfortunately not. I had never realized how much he had helped me. Back in those days it
wasn't as easy to contact each other. We had no cell phones.
"Well he definitely changed your life for the better, whether he realized it or not. Thanks for
your time."
For the last 5 semesters, my father had received 2 B’s and the rest A’s for his grades while
majoring in Biology. He later went on to get his PHD in civil engineering.
to the point.
“Yep. I was 17 when i entered college. I went to a small college of about
3,000 students called East Stroudsburg because the campus looked
nice on the day I visited”, my dad says with a chuckle.
“Well at least you choose the college for the right reason” I mockingly replied.
“How did grandpa and grandma raise you throughout your time before college?”
“My parents never really pushed hard for academics. They didn't go to college.
If I got on the honor roll, they would be proud, but if i didn’t, they just wouldn't
say anything. They never made me do any homework, especially when I got to
high school because I was considered a man by then.”
“Did they not push you hard because you were already a disciplined student?”
“I did the minimum in high school. Maybe on average 30 minutes per night. I
was in the standard classes, and honestly had no idea what was going on.
I was totally reactionary, just trying to scramble something together at the
time when the work was due.”
This shocked me. I had always thought of my dad as at least semi intelligent.
“What made you want to go to college then? "I asked. It seems you weren't very serious
about school”
“I actually wasn't even sure that I would go to college. It wasn't common in the family.
My uncle, however was a guidance counselor. He advised me to go tour colleges.
I only toured 3, and based my decision off of those three.”
“Well did you enjoy your time at East Stroudsburg? Did you believe it was the correct
choice?”
“It was a huge change in scenery. I got to hang out with my friends all the time, and
live in a dorm with parties going on very commonly.”
“Well since I'm 99% sure you didn't engage yourself in these parties, what did you occupy
your time with?”
“You would be correct" my dad said with a loud laugh. "I preferred pinball as my form of
entertainment” (Keep in mind that my dad is old and this was a while ago). “However, we
quickly ran out of money and had to resort to pingpong since it was much cheaper. Just
had to buy paddles and a ball every once in a while when we broke it.”
“That explains why you are so good at ping pong. Did your study habits increase in
college or was ping pong too much of a time commitment?”
“Ha ha ha” my dad sarcastically laughed. “But no, they they did not. I had studied just
as much as I did in high school. Maybe an hour a day. I didn't know crap in any of my
classes. This carried on for 3 semesters”
“What happened after the third semester?”
“I had received a letter. It said I was on academic probation and said I needed to raise
my GPA or else I would be kicked out of the school.”
“Your GPA had to have been pretty bad! They don't just throw those letters out”
“I had a 2.1 GPA after 3 semesters. The letter caused me to realize I needed a change. By
purely dumb luck one night, a man named Clavin Roberts changed my life. See every night
Calvin --"
“Wait!" I interrupted. "Lets save that for one of my story pages. So anyways I'm guessing you had to
start studying more and playing ping pong less to not flunk out. right"
“Yep. I changed my study habits to every night for around 4 hours. I would no longer just try
and cram right before an exam, but I would study in advance and go over my notes.
All thanks to Calvin Roberts.”
“Did you ever get to thank him for what he did, and tell him what an impact he had on your life?”
“Unfortunately not. I had never realized how much he had helped me. Back in those days it
wasn't as easy to contact each other. We had no cell phones.
"Well he definitely changed your life for the better, whether he realized it or not. Thanks for
your time."
For the last 5 semesters, my father had received 2 B’s and the rest A’s for his grades while
majoring in Biology. He later went on to get his PHD in civil engineering.