Forza Azzurri
All American
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2011
- Messages
- 4,491
- Like
- 9,046
and other random facts from a pilgrimage to the Hill.
The whole family drove up Friday AM for my daughter to tour the campus and to tour Newhouse.
Arrived at the Sheraton and checked in around 10:30...grabbed some b'fast on Marshall street and then proceeded to the office of Admissions for our campus tour.
Very few people touring on Friday so it was virtually a private tour with two SU student ambassadors. It was us, one other boy and his father and a kid flying solo. The minute one of our student ambassadors said her name and where she was from, I knew immediately that I had conducted a phone interview with her for a summer internship.
Long story-short, every year I hire an SU student as an summer intern. My small way of paying SU forward. This year, I liked her resume the best and she was my first interview Unfortunately, I was extremely busy this Spring and did not get around to the whole interview process until May so she had already accepted an internship elsewhere.
But what are the odds of that?
Tour was great - so many memories. Both my wife and I are alums so there was a lot of reminiscing. And the campus has changed so much. We loved the new Pedestrian zone. We felt it really extended the quad to include Bird, Schine and the Newhouse complex.
For us, it was first time back since the Clemson game in 2013.
After the tour, ate lunch at Varsity (of course) and then proceeded to Manny's. Ouch. As part of our basement redo this year, we put in a bar so I stocked up on 'Cuse beer glasses, drink glasses, shot glasses, coasters etc. while my family all restocked their wardrobes. All 'Cuse all the time.
We then proceeded to Newhouse for that tour.
Newhouse is just ridiculously impressive. The technology is beyond state of the art and the opportunities available to students there are almost limitless. But what impressed me the most was how focused Newhouse is on preparing their students for a career, rather than just providing an education. I think SU, as a whole, is pivoting in that direction but Newhouse is clearly way ahead of the curve in that respect.
And, of course, no Newhouse tour is complete without a visit to "The Herg" as the students call it. (Anyone else feel that a board-mandated handle change is in order?)..."The Herg" would be an awesome handle.
I will make one other comment. There is lots of angst about today's youth but I was extremely impressed with all the students I interacted with. Both the campus and the Newhouse ambassadors were all bright and clearly highly motivated.
I even had one of the high school kids on the tour pull me aside and start quizzing me about being in a Fraternity, about what I would major in if I were he, about what I thought of his current choice of major, about what I thought about the other schools he was looking at and how they compared to SU etc...
Newhouse tour ended about 5 so we went back to Sheraton to rest up before game...headed up to Dome about 7ish...
I will say this. I am old and I am spoiled and I am a wuss. Virtually every football game I go to now is at Metlife and I always sit in the club seats. The metal benches at the Dome are brutal. Combine the benches with the stifling heat, and it was tough sledding. It was actually much better after halftime when half the section had gotten up and left so we had more room.
Our seats were about 9 rows off the field so I got a really good look at both teams. Tomcat was right. Their offense vs our D was a complete physical mismatch. Anytime they decided to score, we were simply unable to stop them. We got close because they got bored. We were never going to win that game. And 62-28 was much more indicative of the mismatch then the two touchdown spread that we narrowed it to.
Better days ahead but even Belichek would need a talent upgrade to play with Louisville.
Got up Saturday AM and had to get home as my son had his first soccer game.
All-in-all a great visit.
My daughter loved the campus, loved Newhouse and loved "the vibe" as she put it. She noticed all the 'Cuse garb being worn by the students and picked up on how much both students (and alums) love their alma mater...
And, even though I have now lived in the NYC metro area for much longer than I lived in Syracuse (and I grew up there), when I crest that last hill on 81 North and see the old MONY tower, the Dome and the rest of the city, I still feel like I'm home.
The whole family drove up Friday AM for my daughter to tour the campus and to tour Newhouse.
Arrived at the Sheraton and checked in around 10:30...grabbed some b'fast on Marshall street and then proceeded to the office of Admissions for our campus tour.
Very few people touring on Friday so it was virtually a private tour with two SU student ambassadors. It was us, one other boy and his father and a kid flying solo. The minute one of our student ambassadors said her name and where she was from, I knew immediately that I had conducted a phone interview with her for a summer internship.
Long story-short, every year I hire an SU student as an summer intern. My small way of paying SU forward. This year, I liked her resume the best and she was my first interview Unfortunately, I was extremely busy this Spring and did not get around to the whole interview process until May so she had already accepted an internship elsewhere.
But what are the odds of that?
Tour was great - so many memories. Both my wife and I are alums so there was a lot of reminiscing. And the campus has changed so much. We loved the new Pedestrian zone. We felt it really extended the quad to include Bird, Schine and the Newhouse complex.
For us, it was first time back since the Clemson game in 2013.
After the tour, ate lunch at Varsity (of course) and then proceeded to Manny's. Ouch. As part of our basement redo this year, we put in a bar so I stocked up on 'Cuse beer glasses, drink glasses, shot glasses, coasters etc. while my family all restocked their wardrobes. All 'Cuse all the time.
We then proceeded to Newhouse for that tour.
Newhouse is just ridiculously impressive. The technology is beyond state of the art and the opportunities available to students there are almost limitless. But what impressed me the most was how focused Newhouse is on preparing their students for a career, rather than just providing an education. I think SU, as a whole, is pivoting in that direction but Newhouse is clearly way ahead of the curve in that respect.
And, of course, no Newhouse tour is complete without a visit to "The Herg" as the students call it. (Anyone else feel that a board-mandated handle change is in order?)..."The Herg" would be an awesome handle.
I will make one other comment. There is lots of angst about today's youth but I was extremely impressed with all the students I interacted with. Both the campus and the Newhouse ambassadors were all bright and clearly highly motivated.
I even had one of the high school kids on the tour pull me aside and start quizzing me about being in a Fraternity, about what I would major in if I were he, about what I thought of his current choice of major, about what I thought about the other schools he was looking at and how they compared to SU etc...
Newhouse tour ended about 5 so we went back to Sheraton to rest up before game...headed up to Dome about 7ish...
I will say this. I am old and I am spoiled and I am a wuss. Virtually every football game I go to now is at Metlife and I always sit in the club seats. The metal benches at the Dome are brutal. Combine the benches with the stifling heat, and it was tough sledding. It was actually much better after halftime when half the section had gotten up and left so we had more room.
Our seats were about 9 rows off the field so I got a really good look at both teams. Tomcat was right. Their offense vs our D was a complete physical mismatch. Anytime they decided to score, we were simply unable to stop them. We got close because they got bored. We were never going to win that game. And 62-28 was much more indicative of the mismatch then the two touchdown spread that we narrowed it to.
Better days ahead but even Belichek would need a talent upgrade to play with Louisville.
Got up Saturday AM and had to get home as my son had his first soccer game.
All-in-all a great visit.
My daughter loved the campus, loved Newhouse and loved "the vibe" as she put it. She noticed all the 'Cuse garb being worn by the students and picked up on how much both students (and alums) love their alma mater...
And, even though I have now lived in the NYC metro area for much longer than I lived in Syracuse (and I grew up there), when I crest that last hill on 81 North and see the old MONY tower, the Dome and the rest of the city, I still feel like I'm home.