My favorite Metro story is just beginning! After I had a stroke in 2003, I entered Metro for a second B.A. totally unsure of what to expect from myself. Thanks to Metro professors like Laura McCall and the late Paul Farkas, I found a new direction and developed new skills I never thought possible. I went on to graduate school at UC Denver and should go on to a PhD soon.
This semester I am teaching my first course as affiliate faculty in Metro's Honors Department. I'm getting used to my new role on campus and enjoying forming the kinds of mentoring relationships I enjoyed as an undergrad. Teaching is always the best part of my day, and my students are bright, active people who do not take education for granted. I also take courses for a Land Use degree part time. I hope to be a part of Metro's story for many years to come!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Mary Kardoes Bleecher, '76
Memory: While I have many substantive memories of my Metro State education, the most unique one was that I was selected to serve as a student judge for the Best Male Faculty Legs competition in the 1976 Mayfest celebration!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Paul Cesare
Memory: My Metro State Memory by Paul Cesare
Watching Metro State's 1999-2000 Men's Basketball Team on National television (CBS Sports) win the NCAA Division II National Championship game against Kentucky Wesleyan.
Who would have ever imagined it? Winning the national championship put Metro State front and center in the national spotlight. Metro's image/reputation would never be the same again. As a college representative in the Office of Admissions, I can vouch for it. I'll never forget the solid team effort, especially on defense and the remarkable ball-handing and scoring performance by Denver native, DeMarcos Anzures! The team was coached by Mike Dunlap, who was hired after the first-choice coach accepted another position at a Division I college.
The 1999-2000 Metro State's Men's basketball team's Home record was 19-0, - no one could touch us in our own backyard. The noise by the ever-increasing fanbase at the Auraria Events Center home games was thundering and as deafening as I've ever witnessed. The team's 33-4 overall record was the best finish by any Colorado college team in history! Metro State - the once obscure, forgotten college in downtown Denver with no-name players and coaches on that fateful day in March 2000 became a nationally recognized champion - what a memory!
Watching Metro State's 1999-2000 Men's Basketball Team on National television (CBS Sports) win the NCAA Division II National Championship game against Kentucky Wesleyan.
Who would have ever imagined it? Winning the national championship put Metro State front and center in the national spotlight. Metro's image/reputation would never be the same again. As a college representative in the Office of Admissions, I can vouch for it. I'll never forget the solid team effort, especially on defense and the remarkable ball-handing and scoring performance by Denver native, DeMarcos Anzures! The team was coached by Mike Dunlap, who was hired after the first-choice coach accepted another position at a Division I college.
The 1999-2000 Metro State's Men's basketball team's Home record was 19-0, - no one could touch us in our own backyard. The noise by the ever-increasing fanbase at the Auraria Events Center home games was thundering and as deafening as I've ever witnessed. The team's 33-4 overall record was the best finish by any Colorado college team in history! Metro State - the once obscure, forgotten college in downtown Denver with no-name players and coaches on that fateful day in March 2000 became a nationally recognized champion - what a memory!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Elias A. Diggins, Criminal Justice ‘99 (40th Anniversary submission)
I started at Metro in 1991 right out of Montbello High School. Back then, the Student Union was in the current Plaza Building. Most of the African-American students used to gather there in the daytime in a section we dubbed “Little Africa”. We would socialize, talk politics and occasionally have a dominoe game going on between classes. I still remember Ashara Ekundayo and Ashano Muhammad coming in to “drop a little knowledge” to all of us “young people”. Ahhh, back in the day!!!
Dennis Brungardt, El. Ed. ‘75 (40th Anniversary submission)
I loved going to Burger Chef on Colfax. It was a great place to hang out between classes and grab a cup of coffee and a hamburger. The old tin temporary buildings are now gone but I can still remember waiting between classes for the next one.
Patricia Payne, HPSL ‘79 (40th Anniversary submission)
My favorite story about attending Metro was a conversation I had with my 4 year old daughter. I took her to the child development center at Metro while I attended classes. I would always take her into the center and then park my car. After attending a few months, my mother came for a visit. I was driving her around Denver and we went by Metro. As we drove by, I told my mom that was “my school.” My daughter immediatlely corrected me and told me it was “her school, not mine.” After that, I would take her out of the center for lunch with me from time to time just to let her know it was at “her school, too”
Steve Ruddick, History ‘77 (40th Anniversary submission)
I was recruited out of high school to attend Metro State in 1977 by the two person recruiting team of Political Science Professors Weston and Conner who simply got in their car and drove to the local high schools.
As one of the few traditional students on campus, I could not hang out at the informal student union with the faculty and other classmates, the White Mule Bar, until my senior year. Instead, I had to settle for the Burger Chef and Jeff next door.
We were required to attend a physical education class for a liberal arts degree and the basketball team didn’t have a home court, they practiced at the old downtown YMCA.
I found in the course syllbus, Bowling 101, which promised a real beer after every class. What I discovered was that since I was the only non-bowler in the class, I really needed that beer before I bowled, not after.
Metro State was a serious eduational facility with determined, mature students, but there was fun to be had, in the most unusual places
As one of the few traditional students on campus, I could not hang out at the informal student union with the faculty and other classmates, the White Mule Bar, until my senior year. Instead, I had to settle for the Burger Chef and Jeff next door.
We were required to attend a physical education class for a liberal arts degree and the basketball team didn’t have a home court, they practiced at the old downtown YMCA.
I found in the course syllbus, Bowling 101, which promised a real beer after every class. What I discovered was that since I was the only non-bowler in the class, I really needed that beer before I bowled, not after.
Metro State was a serious eduational facility with determined, mature students, but there was fun to be had, in the most unusual places
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