Trojan Connection

Today, I was asked to attend a campus tour/orientation for prospective students from Hawaii at APU. The students were a high level youth soccer team that competed in tournaments and was scheduled to go to Japan and then had to make alternate plans after the earthquake and tsunami disaster.

So the team found a tournament in Anchorage and away they went. The parents took the students to Denali, Seward, the glaciers, and all over to experience Alaska. Not quite Japan, but Alaska served them well.

Well anyways, they contacted APU to get a chance to visit the school to give their sons a chance to take a look at a college outside of Oahu. Since I am a recent transplant, I was invited to come chat with them and several colleagues also came to be available to make a connection with a potential future student.

I surprised a few moms with my local vernacular and knowledge of Oahu and we had a good time talking about UH-Manoa and the transition from Hawaii to the other 49. Lo and behold while I was talking, I met an older brother of one of the soccer players wearing a USC sweatshirt. I flashed the Fight on at him and let him know I was an alumni. He stated that he just graduated from the Viterbi school of Engineering and I let him know that I was an Education Grad from Rossier. I asked him if he ever stayed on campus and he said that he lived in Pardee Tower his first year. I asked him who his RA was and he said he was on the Outdoor Floor with Rohin Deb. Little did he know, that I was his RD and he was my resident, back in the day.

So it is a small world, Alaska by chance for him on a family trip, 5 years later and a Trojan connection was made..small world, fight on, and Pardee it up!

Oh and P.S. The APU president is also a Trojan Alumni...still a lot more beavers up here than trojans..but nice to see some equaling out, just a bit..