My First Meeting

Ask any college student what their least favorite part of school is, and the answer isn’t a surprise. Of course, finals and midterms top the list, but immediately after -- is going to class. Sitting in a classroom for over an hour as a professor monotonously rambles on about some “fascinating” topic is torture for most students.

Excited to go the SPR special meeting today regarding the upcoming pledge drive, I realized shortly after sitting there that I had been deceived into adding an extra class to my Tuesday schedule.

Without realizing it, I began to follow my normal class routine. I grabbed a seat in the back row and watched as everyone trickled in several minutes late. My new professor for the hour, Linda, began to outline the meeting’s agenda. While at first I was active and interested in the subject matter, eventually I started to feel the Charley Brown effect where the teacher makes non-sense whopping “wa-wa” noises. It is also interesting to note that I was not the only one feeling this way. Like always, the guys in the room livened up the discussion by adding several humorous (wise-ass) comments -- something typical in most of my college classes. Linda did, however, get everyone through the material in a little over an hour, and I was impressed that the staff and volunteers felt free to give their unique two-cent perspectives and ideas. And I certainly learned that there’s much more that goes into running a pledge drive than I have ever even thought about.

As the meeting began to wind down, and the aroma of the Aloha Island Grill after-meeting meal began to waft through the room distracting everyone’s attention, I was struck by the thought that maybe some things never change. Will my future work meetings be like class lectures where my mind wanders and I can’t wait get out and go skiing?  Is this what I have to look forward to when I graduate? Or is it that, maybe, the employees at SPR have just found it hard to grow up? Either way, I’ll find out in a year or two.