This time of the year makes me feel nostalgic. The season reminds me of a life-changing journey over four decades ago.
That journey took me about 13,500 kms. – to the twin cities of Urbana-Champaign in central Illinois, home of the University of Illinois, one of the premier state institutions in the United States.
I was enrolling in the Master of Science program of U. of I. as a graduate fellow of the Rotary Foundation International. The last week of August is the start of the Fall Term at UIUC, which has a 2,578-ha. campus housing about 650 buildings.
Arriving at Willard Airport in Champaign after an almost 20-hour flight, I was met by my Rotary guardian, the John Barr (now deceased), a very amiable business leader, who served as my counselor and friend during my stay. Illinois is one of the few universities in the United States that own an airport.
Setting foot on the huge campus for the first time that late August morning, I carried a mixed load of emotions – thrilled by the learning days ahead but apprehensive of the academic pressures and adjustments I had to make to survive the challenges far away from my comfort zone.
Today, the university has at least 60,000 students. More than 11,000 of the student population are from over 100 countries, making the UIUC No. 6 among universities with the most number of foreign students.
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On my first week in the university, while I was in a campus grocery getting my dorm room needs, an imposing figure stood beside me as I was picking up an item from the lower rack and asked, “Pinoy ka ba?”
That encounter with Ting, a graduate student from Manila, helped loosen my apprehensions and led me to get to know about 20 other Filipinos in the university.
My home was Daniels Hall, then a seven-storey residence of about 800 graduate students from all over the world. I remember blending easily with Central and South American students, thanks to my two-semester Spanish class in college, I managed to engage with them using my limited Spanish-speaking skills.
Daniels, one of the 24 multi-storey student residences on campus, has been renovated through the years to accommodate more residents now, including upper class undergraduate students.
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With the gradual passage of time, the leaves transformed from green into a magnificent range of hues – flame, orange, purple-grey and gold – before they became brown and started to fall.
The fading of the brilliant foliage colors paved the way for the winter days when the usual 20-minute walk to my classroom took half an hour to navigate, with occasional stumbles and slips on ice, experiences which became common until the early Spring term.
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The opening of Fall Term classes is preceded by a tradition, started in 1970, called the Quad Day. It is held on the Sunday before the first day of classes (Aug. 26 this year) at the Main Quad (there are three other Quads on campus), which serves as the pathway to various buildings at the heart of the campus). Photos of Quad Day 2925 which were listed online reminded me of the days and nights I crossed the iconic ground daily to and from my classroom at Gregory Hall.
The event has since then grown to become the largest student organization festival in the country today. It is an occasion for more than 700 campus organizations now to promote their goals and recruit prospective members.
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Eventually, I started to feel at home, especially in two buildings other than Gregory Hall, where I found a sanctuary while studying, especially late at night – stretching to 3 or 4 a.m. for to cope with them rigors of graduate school. The Student Union is open for 24 hours every day.
Another favorite spot was the University Library, which has the fourth biggest collections among U.S. universities, just behind Harvard, Michigan and Yale, with about 15,400,000 holdings/volumes now. Just looking at the resources around ne was already an overwhelming experience.
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Going over latest online platforms recently, I learned that my alma mater has developed the Research Park, which is home to almost 100 startup companies and multinational corporations. At the same time, it has remained one of the leading research universities in the world.
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It may be nearly five decades ago, but the memories remain fresh, especially during the late days of August, when autumn begins. | NWI
