What do LEGO building blocks, the musical Grammy Awards, the actor Alec Baldwin, the singer Madonna, ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½, and yours truly—Anne Devlin—all have in common?
(Oops! The picture above may be a giveaway!)
Yes, this year—2018—we all turn 60 years old.
OK, I am hyperventilating here a bit, so let me just catch my breath.
Where did the time go? I still remember as if it were yesterday playing with LEGOs to build castles, watching the new young singer Madonna on MTV (which debuted in 1981—the year after I graduated from college), and coming through the doors of ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ to teach in 1988 when I was just a young one of 30 years old.
I remember that there was only one room of computers on Maria’s campus at that time with a hard drive that filled the wall of an entire classroom. Typewriters and typing courses were still found on campus. We used actual chalk on blackboards during classes and projected notes using something called an overhead projector. I drove a beat-up old Volkswagen beetle and lived in a tiny studio apartment eating a lot of pasta and cereal.
Now, I have a four-door Volvo, a house with a patio and garage, eat steak and quinoa, use the Blackboard online learning system for classes, and carry a small smartphone computer in my purse!
As ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ officially turns 60 on April 25, 2018, we can also look back to see how many wonderful changes the College has experienced. From a single building (the Main Building) in 1958 to four buildings with the newly acquired McAuley Building, the campus has certainly spread its wings. From an institution whose student body consisted of Sisters of Mercy exclusively to a co-ed institution open to the public, the College community has become wonderfully diverse. And from awarding associate’s degrees only to awarding associates degrees and several bachelor’s degrees, the academic expansion of the College has been significant. You can read a bit more about the history of ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ here.
I don’t know if I will be hiding under the covers or celebrating when my 60th birthday rolls around this summer, but I do know that ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ is ready to celebrate over the next year! Here is a preview of what is to come.
So, happy birthday to all who are celebrating 60 years in 2018, and cheers to 60 more great years ahead!
Until next time . . .
Anne