When I was a little girl, I used to call Grandpa and ask him the most random questions. Sometimes the questions were if what my dad said was really true, did grandpa sleep on rocks when he was a kid? Other times the questions had more merit, why do we knock on wood when we don’t want bad luck? The answer: because people in the old days used to believe that evil spirits lived in the depths of wood so knocking on a wood table or a wooden dresser would rid the evil spirits away. He also seemed like the world’s smartest man to me, and in all honesty, I still believe he is. That’s why being able to bring my grandpa to class had to be one of the coolest things I could ever imagine doing as a college student.
He has always asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, from the time I started talking. When I would look at him with eyes of complete uncertainty, he would shrug his shoulders and say “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.” Still to this day he says this, however, since I embarked on my college journey, Grandpa has said he wishes he could go to school for a job when he grows up.
My grandfather loves wisdom. He loves learning and gaining more insight on the world. He for years took his love of learning to college classrooms being a student at Brooklyn College and then at Kansas University. He continued with a doctorate in which he was a collegiate professor at UMass Amherst and Rhode Island College. To make him even cooler, he even had Viola Davis as a student. Education has always been something he has supported, inside and outside of the classroom. So when I started my freshmen year at Wagner College, my grandfather was intrigued about every aspect. How was the campus?
What were my classes like? How was I doing with it all? When I walked into my Darwin, Marx, and Freud Honors class all I could think of was how cool Grandpa would think it was. I was sitting in the president of the college’s meeting room, at a mahogany table, overlooking the Verrazano Bridge and Brooklyn, with two adorable professors eager to challenge our freshmen abilities and make us better humans. One of these professors is an EXTREMELY intelligent man who loves the content of the class so much that he continues teaching even though he is retired. The other professor is the president himself. I could not wait to tell Grandpa about the class.
As I am sitting with my professor in the shuttle back to campus from the Staten Island Ferry, I mention how intrigued my grandfather is by my experience at Wagner and especially the material of my professor’s class. Light-heartedly, I mention how Grandpa would love to experience college for at least one more day. In response my professor tells me to invite my grandfather to college. So what do I do? I bring my grandfather to class.
Grandpa and I worked out the logistics via phone and email. His response to my invite was immediate and enthusiastic. I was beyond ecstatic that I was going to be able to provide him this opportunity. He would arrive Monday afternoon, we would catch a quick dinner together, and then we would head up the stairs of Union building and sit patiently for the class to begin. As a stressed out student, visiting with my grandpa was uplifting and long-needed. Not only does he possess more knowledge than anyone I know, he also helps me put everything into perspective in the scheme of life. Dinner was lovely, but what truly made it all so worth it was to see the smile on his face, putting him in an element I had been waiting anxiously to see. At one point, I look out the window and see the orange moon glimmering over NYC and the water’s edge. And all I thought to myself was how lucky I am: a wonderful education and my grandfather soaking it in right by my side. Three hours later, I unfortunately had to say goodbye but hearing your reaction to the class and experience was motivation to get me through the rest of the semester, to work harder and strive higher, and continue to make you proud.
To Grandpa-
I hope you know that bringing you to school with me was absolutely the coolest thing anyone could do. I got to enjoy amazing quality time, enjoying a wonderful experience with you, the world's best grandfather. I am so thankful for my professor’s encouraging me to bring you, a chance I know I would not have been provided at a different school. Thank you for your undying support and constant encouragement. I am truly so lucky to have you as a Grandpa. Thank you for the memory I will never forget. I love you.
