Thankful for College Guidance
Thankful Thoughts: ActiveRain's November 2024 Gratitude Challenge
When I was a senior at Cradock High School in Portsmouth, Virginia, I wanted to go to college but had no family advice since my parents and close relatives had not attended college. I was fortunate to have assistance by the Guidance Director, LeRoy Rose. He had attended the University of Virginia and suggested that I should apply for admission.
I was accepted as a student in the College of Arts and Sciences. My father drove me to Charlottesville and dropped me off in front of the dormitory that would be my new residence. In those days, the students were all young men except of the School of Education and the Nursing School. Everybody wore a coat and tie everywhere we went.
My first roommate was a graduate of a prep school and happened to be a heavy drinker. At that stage of my young life, I had never used alcohol and had no experience with drunks. Fortunately, things were sorted out and I got a new roommate. Students at UVA did a lot of walking. We walked to classes, to dining locations, to church and would walk into town to shop or attend a movie.
I was impressed with the honor system. We did not have worry about our possessions and the honor pledge was included with every test. All of my professors were men and there were no girls in the classes. The professors were called Mister even though most of them had doctorate degrees. The class that gave me the most trouble was French. The Latin that I had taken in high school did not help me with modern language studies.
I joined the Camera Club and became a member of the rifle team. At that time, the rifle team was a junior varsity sport. We used the navy rifle range and had army staff members for support and to drive us to other schools for rifle matches. I recall learning more about the life at the Naval Academy when we went there to compete with their team. I had become a Certified Rifle and Pistol Instructor and that training was very helpful.
By the end of my first year, I had decided to attend the McIntire School of Commerce and to major in Finance. I learned that by attending summer school for two years, I could graduate in three years rather than four. I became a life member of Alpha Kappa Psi, a business fraternity but never joined one of the many social fraternities. I received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce degree with a Finance major.
One of the special memories during my undergraduate years was an opportunity to have the room at 21 West Lawn, part of the original buildings designed by Thomas Jefferson, the founder of UVA. The office of the President was across the lawn from my room and one day. Colgate W. Darden, Jr., a former governor and the President at the University stopped by one day and told me that he had the same room when he was a student.
I applied for admission to the School of Law at UVA and was accepted and that established my schedule for the next three years. My father had promised to purchase a new a car for me if I finished college and I received a new Plymouth station wagon to use during my law school years.
Law school was a challenging experience. The nationally known professors were outstanding and we got to know our classmates since all of us were taking the required classes. I shared a mailbox with Ted Kennedy. I was on the Virginia Law Weekly staff and served as treasurer of that group and was fortunate to have an office in the library. I recall a moment when my tax professior, Mortimer Caplin, dropped by to ask me to change his mailing address. I asked for the new address, and his answer was Washington, DC. He had been appointed as the U.S. Commisioner of Internal Revenue.
During the fall of my third year of law school, I passed the examination to become a Virginia Real Estate Broker and passed the examinations for multiple insurance lines and security licenses. Since I had a car, I was the driver for a group of us to go to Richmond for the bar exam. I was lucky to be the only one in that group that passed the exam on the first try.
I opened my first real estate and insurance office during the summer after finishing law school.
Please forgive me for any typos you might find in this post. I call them 'senior moments'.
Dahlia, Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania USA IMG 5685
Canon PowerShot G11 Camera
Photograph by Roy Kelley
Roy and Dolores Kelley Photographs
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