As a faithful Bobcat and fellow vet, I too welcome you to BA.
When I was in high school, my dream was to go to Arizona State and play baseball. Two things in the summer after my junior year altered that dream. One was while playing American Legion ball and learning humility at the left arm of Grant Jackson (who went on to pitch 17 seasons in the majors). The other thing was my high school making me a delegate to Buckeye Boys State which at the time was being hosted by OHIO. While at Boys State I learned of its J-school. I asked its location on campus and one afternoon made my way there. I asked the receptionist if anyone could tell me about the school. Minutes later I was chatting with Dr. Lorin Horton, the school's director. He spent an hour selling me on the school. I opted for its public relations division.
The morning after graduating from OHIO, I volunteered Army. When the Department of the Army saw my OHIO degree, it decided it needed an Army correspondent and liaison specialist in Korea. Fast forward to the end of my deployment. Just four weeks after returning to the States, I was beginning my career with General Electric in New York. Shortly after I started, the boss of my unit hired a new graduate - Eli - of Columbia University's J-school. I asked the boss why he hired me before Eli. His reply: "That was easy. It was the combination of your Army experience and your degree from Ohio University."
I am the oldest of 10 family members to make their way to OHIO. It's where I met my wife - whose ashes - per her request - I sprinkled in the Hocking.
Thank you for sharing Mike. Good Read! Awesome story!
Here's my favorite Ohio football story. In February 2014 my phone rang. It was Coach Solich. He began chatting about the 2013 season. It was fun. But after 10 or so minutes, I said, "Coach, you didn't call just to talk about last season." His reply: "You're right." My reply: "So why?" His reply: "I want you to come to Athens and spend a day with me and my staff talking leadership." I accepted.
We settled on a day in mid-March. Coach Solich did a terrific job of organizing the day. First we had a one-one chat. As it was ending, I asked, "What's next?" He replied: "See that door? My staff is waiting for us in my conference room."
On entering I saw about 20 men seated around a long, oval table. Coach had left open the chair at the near end. He had positioned his chair in a corner behind mine. My immediate thought: I need to build a bond quickly. So I began making my way around the table, shaking each man's hand. When I returned to my chair and sat, I started by saying I think I began thinking about leadership as I listened to my dad and older brothers talking about their military service. Dad, I related, was a WWI aviator who was shot down. My brothers were Navy WWII. One was an aviator, flying anti-sub patrols. The other was on an LCS at Borneo, New Guinea and Okinawa.
I then smiled and said my claim to football "fame" at Ohio was player-coaching an intramural team to the campus championship. That brought laughs and we were off on a discussion of leadership - of issues both big and small.
Six hours later - with time out for lunch - I was back in Coach Solich's office for a closing one-one. As it ended, we stood and shook hands. Said Coach, "From now on you are a member of our team."
He is a man who is easy to like and respect.