The Accidental Painter—History Alumnus Turned Artist By Ron Throop ’90 I wish I could say otherwise, but my path to Oswego State came comically by chance. I remember back in high school sitting in a circle of prospective students while an Oswego Admissions rep asked each of us our intended major of study. Practically everyone picked
As you get older you remember certain “red letter” days. One of those, for me, came in the summer of 1971 when I spotted a name in the Oswego course catalog: Campbell Black, a novelist who was teaching fiction in the English Department’s new writing program. That day was, as the cliché has it, the
When I came to SUNY Oswego as a student on that snowy 1978 January day, I could not have imagined that my future, family, home and career would all be here on the shores of Lake Ontario. After all, I was from Wantagh [Long Island] with a certain order to my universe. The expectation was
Was it standing together on the shores of Lake Ontario, holding hands, watching the melting crayon sunsets at night? Was it those long walks around campus holding each other up when caught in a wind tunnel? Was it the onslaught of horizontal snow that pelted our faces as we braved the brutal winters that bonded
By Markisan Naso ’97 I spent my first year of college at SUNY Stony Brook studying archaeology, and it was a complete and utter failure. In a few short months I learned that my dream of becoming an archaeologist (or more accurately, becoming the next Indiana Jones), required a lot less punching and a lot
by Ermine Calandra Cunningham ’73 I was trying to lie low in my dorm room after the raucous lunchtime incident. There was nobody I could talk to about it, either; the other girls spoke little English, and my Spanish wasn’t good enough yet to describe what had happened. It was Friday afternoon and classes were
I’m from a family of SUNY Oswego graduates; father, sister, two brothers and a cousin. I entered Oswego as a junior in the Public Justice program in the fall of 1979. My schedule included Public Justice 301 with Dr. Norman Weiner in one of the large lecture rooms at Lanigan Hall. I had never been
Observer, Absorber in Education Heaven My fourth-grade teacher had one major criticism during her parent-teacher conference with my parents so many years ago. “He doesn’t participate enough,” she told Mom and Dad. “I know he understands the material, but he doesn’t raise his hand or participate much. He’s like a sponge.” I guess I always
In honor of the 20th Anniversary of National Poetry month, we invited all alumni to submit a poem about how SUNY Oswego ignited their passion and helped them find their life’s purpose. We are pleased to share with you our alumni’s submissions. Oswego Haiku Oswego Spring bloom awakens passion to teach darling buds of
Diana Abu-Jaber ’80 shares an excerpt she adapted from her new memoir, Grace at the Table, slated to be published in spring 2016 by W.W. Norton. Her novel, Birds Of Paradise was awarded the Arab-American National Book Award. Her novels, Origin, Crescent and Arabian Jazz, and her memoir The Language of Baklava, also won several awards, including