An Alumnus Returns to Campus

SEA_tide
Tue, 13 Jan 2015 04:03:05 +0000

Part 2:

As McFarland Boulevard (Exit 73) typically has a lot of traffic, we decided to take the US-11/AL-215 shortcut to campus at Exit 79. Much to my surprise, the bridge from Alberta City to campus was in the process of being replaced, so there was a 3 mile detour to campus. Some shortcut.

As I had a lot of things to do on campus and the rate was very good, I booked a one night stay at the Hotel Capstone which is right on campus. I paid $86 plus tax for a one night stay after a 20% promo code from Orbitz. The hotel wanted at least $120 plus tax if booking directly. This was more expensive than the Groupon or Priceline deals available earlier, but I didn’t know if I was going to Tuscaloosa when they were offered. Amazingly, our room was available at 10:00 am, even though we didn’t arrive until 11:30 am. The room was very nice. My family stayed there for my graduation because I had gotten club level rooms for $99 per night when most people were paying $300+.

After settling in, I contacted a few friends. As it was dead week (the week before finals), many were busy. i did get to see a couple friends, which was very good. Even with technology, it’s had keeping up with people when everyone’s very busy and lives 2000+ miles away.

One of the main things I wanted to do when on campus was to visit my former coworkers and professors and see what was new. I worked 20 hours per week for 3 years in two different departments and got to know everyone really well. Sadly, my favorite professor had died just after I graduated, so it was very surreal walking into the building and seeing someone else in his office. Otherwise, it was great seeing everyone and hearing what had changed in the last 18 months. I asked about coming back for a PhD program and despite some professors being very interested in me returning, I decided that I wasn’t going to pursue a PhD at this time.

After visiting, I decided to drive around campus to see what had changed. The NOAA National Water Center Building had just started construction when I graduated and was now complete. There were a bunch of new fraternity and sorority houses as well as a new dormitory (Presidential II). They all looked very nice, though I do miss the some of the buildings they replaced.

What’s most interesting is that I missed the turnoff to my former dorm (Ridgecrest West). Despite turning there hundreds of times, I passed right by because what was once a lively dorm (Palmer Hall) was now a bunch of grass blocked by a short fence. I did end up driving by Ridgecrest, but as there was no parking, I wasn’t able to visit the ducks at Palmer Lake.

As my traveling companions and I had been up for 36 hours with maybe a 2 hour nap, we headed to bed early. The next day, we shopped at the newly renovated and expanded Supe Store, I visited more professors and UA staff, and then we did more shopping in town where I was also able to see a close friend. At 1 PM, we left for Atlanta, making a few stops along the way to purchase UA Clothing and souvenirs. We didn’t check into our hotel until 11:00 pm.