College Experience

Tina and I dropped Trent off at college. I remember my parents dropping me off at Vawter Hall. In that moment, I understood both how my parents might have felt dropping me off and how Trent might feel being dropped off. There are similarities and differences in our experiences. When I moved in, I'd known my freshman roommate since 8th grade homeroom. Trent had only texted with his roommate for about a month before moving in. I knew quite a few people going to Virginia Tech, including a friend I met in first grade. As far as we know, Trent doesn't have any previous acquaintances at University of Maryland.

I checked – Vawter Hall doesn't have air conditioning now, so I'm confident it didn't have it when I went to school. Neither Trent nor I had air conditioning in our dorm rooms. One day, perhaps Trent will tell a child that they're the first generation of the family to have air conditioning in their dorm room.

We're both engineers! Trent is starting off as a mechanical engineer. I started off as a computer engineer. I got to give him some advice on vector analysis of free body diagrams. That's an engineering skill so fundamental that I can still do it 36 years later.

Virginia Tech is located in a small rural town in central Virginia – though football money has fueled significant growth since my day. University of Maryland lies inside the Washington, D.C. beltway. There will be a Purple Line DC Metro station on campus – though it won't operate until after Trent graduates.

I gave Trent a hug and walked down the hallway, leaving him to confront the challenges and complexities of college. It's exciting and daunting – I think for both of us. Trent is going to shoulder more responsibility for his own destiny than at any previous time in his life. Preparing Trent for the opportunities that are available to him may be the most important thing I ever do – getting out of his way and letting him do it may be the hardest. I can imagine what it must have been like for my grandparents to drop off their children and what it might be like for Trent to drop off his children. These rites of passage echo through our lives. No pressure, Trent – they're just rhetorical children.