What Macalester means to me
Becoming a scholar
By Marijo Hunt Hickok
I remember being so grateful for work-study contracts and grants that helped me piece together tuition. I remember those long, serious, pivotal conversations on the grass in the fall, or in the Grille, that settled the deep concerns of the day. I remember pride in realizing I could be a scholar. I could do this! Then I remember all those dreams of incompetence or unpreparedness - why do I still have them?
Thanking my parents and professors
By Marsha Whempner Alexander
My good life has come about through a huge indebtedness to Macalester and my parents. I was able to attend Mac through scholarships and because my parents went without a car for 20 years in order to save money for college for their four daughters.
Macalester was a perfect fit for me, though the fear factor was slow to leave. I remember sobbing to my father that I was "not college material" upon receiving the first C in my life from Professor Kenneth Holmes in World History. Dad shooed me back to Mac where Dr. Holmes with that famous twinkle, likewise encouraged me to persevere, and I did.
I had no foreign language experience, yet Drs. Borghild Sundheim and Anne Blegen opened my eyes to the specific beauty of the French language and culture and then to all languages and cultures.
I remained a pipsqueak in Dr. Theodore Mitau's Political Science class. Yet his messages of paying attention to world events and getting involved were to emerge in my activity within the League of Women Voters, School Board referendums and local politics.
Prof. Ivan Burg, my work-study mentor in Journalism and the Mac Weekly adviser, profoundly affected my life as he taught me to "lighten up" as we fired out PR pieces to the media. His advice was useful as I later worked as a School Board reporter, advised the high school yearbook, and took many secretarial notes.
Finally, J. Maxwell Adams, Chaplain and Religion professor, gave my life a huge direction when he laid a foundation for religious thought and behavior that still remains.
Woven throughout the four years through chapel, convocations, and international speakers was a constant message to try to make the world a better place through vocation and avocation opportunities. My parents and those professors surely made a significant difference in my life; bless them all.
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A laboratory for growing culture
By Donald Luecke
The diversity of philosophical understanding and opinion from the faculty (e.g., Drs White, Mitau and O.T. Walter) was enhanced by required chapel and convocation attendance involving a wide variety of speakers. This exposure was a laboratory for personal growth, developing respect and tolerance for other views that became even more important in shaping my life than the countless laboratory hours we science majors spent in Carnegie.
Finding one's calling
By Vernon Maxa
I was married and had two children born while at Mac. I also worked part-time at Montgomery Wards and served two churches as student pastor. This didn't allow enough time to really get to know many students in depth. I loved all of my professors and admired them for their intellectual acumen and dedication to providing a very high quality of education. I consider Mac as very important in making a choice for ministry.
Leaving a lasting impression
By Cecile Williamson Carey
I remember the Canadian American Conference (does Macalester still have it?). The CAC and such professors as Dr. Armajani, Dr. Sundheim and Dr. Blegin, Dean Dupre and President Turk formed my interest in diverse cultures and in travel. Dr. Dodge was a role model for going for the Ph.D. As a group, my English professors shaped my lifelong interest in literature.
Always had a good feeling about Mac
By Roger Dunnavan
I just have a good feeling about the whole Macalester experience. The classes were small; professors were approachable and very helpful! I grew up just two blocks from the campus (223 Macalester Street) so the college was a part of my life from a very early age.
The Macalester experience
By Dan Johnson
The cosmopolitan and international learning exposure at Mac was life shaping and served a large part in the road I have taken. Thanks Macalester.