The Patio

Spring has sprung…finally.  Heck, it should be here…classes are over.

As I passed Caleb Mills in the alley – anyone named Grunge is comfortable in the alley – the light was hitting the trees just right.  The tree colors were popping.  The patio looked so relaxing…the only addition might be some TWR.

On this tiny little campus, there are many places just like this.  Places to temporarily enter a time warp…and relax.

I’ll let you in on a little secret.  In about 5-6 weeks, you’ll find the Class of 1965 sitting there.  They’ll tell stories from the “glory years” of Wabash College.  On that patio, their record in the Monon Bell game will probably be a perfect 4-0.  They’ll all have been in that Phi Beta Something  or Summa Cum Something fraternity.  You know, that’s OK.  Because those guys from 1965 did go out and change the world – just like they were instructed to do by none other than Byron K. Trippet.

I hope that patio is still there for the Class of 2015’s 50th reunion.

Scott Crawford, from Career Services, hands a young man his “munch”.

I know…I know…

I write about Midnight munch every time I go…but I can’t help myself.

If Chapel Sing is an enduring mark of this place, Midnight Munch can’t be far behind.  We talk relationships, we talk engagement, we talk brotherhood, we talk family…and all of that is on display at the Munch.  It’s Dean Mike Raters making the pancakes.  It’s Dean Michelle Janssen cleaning tables.  It’s Chip Timmons from Admissions testing each batch of bacon before he declares it fit for consumption.  It’s Mary Jo Johnston from Bon Appetit making sure we “temps” don’t screw up the finely-tuned machine.  It’s Professor Laura Wysocki from Chemistry greeting the students as they arrive.  It’s Mark Elizondo (head trainer) washing dishes non-stop for almost 2 hours.  It’s Richard and Eileen Bowen (Glee Club and Fine Arts) , Professor Greg Dallinger (Chem – Rich’s son), and many others serving with a smile and encouragement on an always-tough week at the Bash.

The Grunge?  I helped Brent Harris (Sports Information) and Mark Elrod (Bio) run food to the lines to make sure we always had plenty.  And I smiled a lot.

In our classrooms the next day, there will be test takers and test administrators.  But this I know.  No one will be cheering any harder for success than those administering those tests.

It’s what a family does…and it’s a way of life at the Bash.

The Pre-mission brief. Chef gave us all detailed instructions.

This bacon personally approved by Chip Timmons…and the Grunge.

Dr. Marta Collier’s Enduring Questions Class

Dr. Marta Collier teaches Enduring Questions to a set of Freshman.  To give them a capstone event for the individual projects, she set up the opportunity for the students to answer questions about their projects, similar to the Celebrating Student Research event.

It was fun.  These students are second semester freshmen but the poise and skill is just superb.

Ben Johnson ’18 talks about the death of protest music to a fellow student

Kudos to Marta for a great idea!

Molly White (Artist and Daughter) and President Pat White H’10

Chris and Pat White, along with their daughter Molly, were back on campus on May 4th to unveil Pat’s presidential portrait.  The ceremony took place in a packed Lilly Library.  The portrait was special in many ways – probably most of all because Molly was the artist.

Pat White and “his students”

Pat’s legacy will undoubtedly be his love of Wabash and her students.  Pat got the chance to catch up with many of them before the official ceremony.  He was in his element!

Pat White autographs a Pat White t-shirt!

This Wabash student showed up in a Pat White shirt and equipped with a Sharpie.  President White was happy to sign.

Chris and Pat are good people, in every sense of the word.  They are “sit on the patio at Caleb Mills, kick off your shoes, and grab a TWR” kind of good people.  Lives were touched by them and their lives were touched as well.

That’s how it is at “this good place.”

Nickos Kabitsis ’95, Debajit Banerjee ’92, Tze Loong Tan ’95, Faisal Ahmed ’95, Mujtaba Khan (Chotu) ’95, Periclis Hadjisavvas ’94

Chotu Khan writes:

Dear Tom,

Just wanted to inform you that a bunch of us alumni got together recently in Bangkok, Thailand over the weekend of 10-11 April, 2015. Some of us hadn’t seen each other in 23 years!

It was quite an emotional meet – seeing Nick (Nickos Kabitsis ’95), Tze (Tze Loong Tan ’95), and Peri (Periclis Hadjisavvas ’94) after 20 years. I last met Debajit (Debajit Banerjee ’92) in Calcutta back in 1998. I get to see Faisal (Faisal Ahmed ’95) a bit more often as he visits Dhaka from time to time.

All in, it was me (Chotu Khan ’95) along with my wife Lori Simpson; Faisal Ahmed ’95, his wife Rebecca Konrad and their two beautiful daughters; Nickos Kabitsis ’95; Tze Loong Tan ’95; Periclis Hadjisavvas ’94; and Debajit Banerjee ’92 at the reunion. It was quite an international meet (!) considering where we all flew in:

• I along with Lori flew in from Bangladesh where we live along with our children. While I am originally from Bangladesh, Lori is in fact from Crawfordsville, IN. (My son is currently attending Earlham College in IN. Our two daughters reside with us in Dhaka.)
• Faisal, who is originally from Bangladesh, currently resides in Cambodia with his wife Rebecca who is from MN.
• Nick is originally from Greece, but is currently residing in Vietnam.
• Tze flew in from Singapore where he currently resides. He is originally from Malaysia.
• Peri flew in from Greece where he is originally from.
• Debajit Banerjee is originally from India, however currently resides in Vietnam.

It was a great feeling seeing these guys after so long. We are planning another reunion, possibly in Europe, so that few more of us can join in from the US and other places of the world. Shall keep you posted.

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This is why face-to-face reunions are so critical to lasting friendships!