The alums came from afar to see their friends and former teachers. Doug had flown in from Australia the night before on his way back to American University. Steve had just come back from vacationing in Hawaii before returning to Fairleigh Dickinson. Even a few parents showed up to trade stories.

The soda and food consumption began in earnest once the basketball games got under way. Mr. Furlong and Mr. Cap officiated with the help of Mr. Snowdon. Everyone had a chance to play - both men and women. Who won? Seems that is debatable. It is probable that the Black team won for the second year although there was a bit of a breakdown in the score keeping. No big deal! It was a great fun evening.

The induction of the 2007 Badger Athletic Hall of Fame recipient was somewhat delayed while the photographer ran to find a replacement battery. But no matter, Mr. Furlong regaled the throngs with stories of former students. Remember the one about Matt's backyard roller coaster? When all was ready, Mr. Furlong recounted the accomplishments of Brian Kerwin on the basketball court both at Craig and at Immaculata High School and welcomed him as the 4th alumnus to receive the trophy. The Badger Athletic Hall of Fame trophy was first awarded in 2006.

David is shown here with Headmaster, David Blanchard, who was a wrestling coach earlier in his career.

When contacted by Craig, Kyra explained that KDE "is an honorary educational fraternity which promotes the cause of education by fostering a spirit of fellowship, high standards of scholastic attainment, and professional ideals among its members. We are an active group engaged in preparing our members for the teaching profession. You need a 3.0 GPA or higher to join, I currently have a 3.5. We do volunteer work and I run many programs having people be prepared for a teaching job, how to work with children with learning disabilities, how to use graphic organizers in the classroom, and more. Our volunteer work is with Discovery Arts to help children with blood disorders and cancer while they are in the hospital. I am President, which means I run everything to the best of my abilities with my fellow officers to fall back on. I was Secretary for a year when I first joined the group a year ago, and last spring I moved up to President by the request of the Chapter Advisor. "

When asked about living accommodations on campus, Ian mentioned an interesting system fairly recently started at Union called Minerva Houses. "Seven Houses make up THE MINERVAS, which were created in September, 2004 to broaden the educational experience for students outside the classroom. Every incoming student is randomly assigned to one of the Minerva Houses and joins upperclass students, faculty and staff in a house affiliation. Each Minerva has its own governing council, which is led by a faculty and student representative." Ian described the system as "like a mix between fraternity houses, homerooms, and Field Day." He says the "kids are very open and accepting" and the college offers "hundreds of groups" and many opportunities to freely explore ideas.

The hardest part about transitioning to college, according to Ian, is leaving your friends behind, but he believes strongly in getting involved right away and not being afraid of being open to the ideas of other students.

Ian graduated from the 8th grade at Craig in 2002 and earned a diploma from Morris Catholic High School in 2006.

Good luck to you, Rachael, and keep us posted!

Tad, not surprisingly, is on the swimming team. He practices three hours a day, six days a week. Last year he was 15th in the state in the 13 and 14 age group. This year, however, he moves into the 15 plus age group so competition is a lot stiffer. To Tad, however, that just means continuing to develop his ability and working hard. When asked what he had learned from Craig, Tad talked about having developed a good work ethic.

Steve is taking a five-year program at Fairleigh leading to a Master’s degree in education. It may take him as long as six years to finish because he is not willing to “fly right through and enter the work force.” Steve believes in allowing enough time to absorb the information in college, “you want to do well, but also leave enough time to take the information with you later in life.”

Having originally enrolled at Monmouth University as a freshman, Steve found the student body at 6,000 was just too large. Fairleigh, at 2,000 students is “a whole different social milieu” and actually offers greater social opportunities. “You see more familiar faces on campus with a smaller enrollment.” Fortunately, he was able to transfer all his credits.

Steve is commuting to Fairleigh from home and, although he said he might miss out on some social events, he claimed the dorms were not that great. However, he is thinking about joining a fraternity that just started on campus.

When asked the advantages of registering as a student with learning differences, Steve mentioned priority registration, extended time on tests, and schedule accommodations. He said that 12 credits is the least a student can take a semester and still be considered a full time student.

Steve’s final words of advice to the 11th and 12th grade students were “It is what you learn and the experience you get out of college rather than what college you go to that is important.”

Rachel shared her key differences between high school and college. She talked about being able to choose specific courses and the times that they meet. She also talked about the challenges of being in a larger environment including meeting new people and getting to know her teachers. She is off to a great start.

Steve Wall, a graduate of the class of 2004 will be speaking to 11th and 12th grades on November 1st.