What I love about St. John's University

[beast of the east]

With college commencements well underway in May, I thought it would be a good topic to discuss for those of us who graduated from or care about the school.

My son has just completed the college selection process. This was an arduous process, beginning seriously in junior year, and concluding just last week. It made me reflect on everything good about my own SJU experience, and tangible reasons why an SJU education and experience has worked well for me.

1. The education. Ok, we are ranked the 360th school in the country or some ridiculously low number to thump your chest about in ads. I don't believe that was the case when I graduated, and I remember some metrics published a few years after I graduated that had us much closer to Nova and BC than SJU is today. But far beyond rankings, SJU prepared me for professional licensure, and afforded me an adjunct path for my education that has served me extremely well in my career path.

2. Clubs, societies, etc. Before dorms, the only way to really become a part of SJU outside of the classroom was involvement in campus organizations. I became the vide president of one, and president of another, which both were great leadership experiences. I also made some really great friends along the way, many of which are still friends today.

3. The friends. Going through this college selection process, I consulted with SJU friends whose kids at gone to other schools. Many offered great, generous advice, including many of you on Redmen.com One wrote a letter of recommendation to one school. One old friend, who I haven't seen since school days, is now the Vice President of Student life at a top 50 university. I reached out to her, she pulled my son's application, and kept an eye on it. What could possibly say more about SJU than encountering someone 30 years post graduation who you havent' seen in the interim, and they treat you with warmth, friendship and caring as if you'd seen them yesterday.

4. Onward and upward. My son did not consider SJU, nor did my other kids. Every parent wants their own kids to do better than they did. Because of what SJU did for me, my kids had other, better opportunities. I was thrilled to go to a private school that I could afford, and going to SJU was, as a kid from Queens, something I was extremely proud of. Because of it, my kids got an opportunity to receive a better education, and have a better career, than I have had. Thanks, SJU.

Would like to hear form some of your POSITIVE experiences at or because of SJU.

 

[Andrew]

While I did not attend St. John's, my middle school graduation was held in alumni hall. I thought it was the coolest thing in the world to graduate in the arena where Chris Mullin had just finished his freshmen year. It solidified the start of my over thirty year obsession with the basketball team that I have tried to pass on to my brother, wife, friends and now my kids. I remember that graduation a lot more than the ones that followed at the Javits Center and the Broome County Arena. The friends that I have that attended St. John's have been very successful in diverse fields and share a common theme of thoughtfulness and sense of community. I think very highly of them. I feel that St. John's represents the diversity of my borough of Queens and have had other memorable times on the campus. The other one that stands out is seeing the first season of what would become the Brooklyn Cyclones that played on the baseball field in their first season. I don't expect that my kids will attend St. John's either when the time comes, but I will always think highly of anyone with the name St. John's associated with them.