Coming to BU from Small Town?

shoot4moon
Mon, 26 May 2014 20:49:25 +0000

Back in 2009, DD and I attended an information session at BU. There were four students on the panel. I have no idea what the other three students looked like or said, but I will never forget the student like you. This student was magnetic - pretty sure almost everyone in the audience both laughed and cried during his speech as he described his transition to BU. Short story - never been outside of Nebraska - never been on a plane - didn’t own a suitcase. His town by his own description had zero diversity - he had never met a non-white, Jewish, or gay person in his life. This amazing student packed up his belonging in cardboard boxes, and took the T to campus for freshman orientation. Unfortunately, he took the T and schepped his stuff to orientation at… Boston College, where they told him that he had not gotten in. What a nightmare until he pulled out his admissions letter and they pointed him back down the green line to Boston University. He moved into his room, and within 5 minutes had learned that his random roommate was gay, black, Jewish, and hysterically funny. They became friends immediately, and roomed together all four years. He talked of some homesickness early on - he was sitting in a huge lecture class taking a test and quietly crying because he didn’t have the funds to fly home for a friend’s funeral. The professor tapped him on the shoulder, took him outside, and “adopted” him for the rest of his four years into his own family. Pretty sure he was responsible for a large spike in BU admissions - best ad for BU I’ve ever seen. FYI, there are several BU professors who open their homes for Thanksgiving dinners every year to any student who is in town - the University is quite aware that not everyone flies home on breaks.