Paul's Website

Memories And Recollections Of Days Gone Bye!

College Life Began At Los Angeles City College

LACC

Like many, I didn't think a lot about college until the last week in High School and when I wasn't accept to anyplace, I went to "JC".  I tried to get into the local school but boundaries were pretty hard... So off to Los Angeles City College I went.

After having a vision of becoming a failure in my life, I got serious about school and actually ended up with 3.5+ GPA and became the LACC Student Body President in 1964... Imagine!

I entered LACC in the summer of 1962.  It was my last chance as I didn't really take high school all that serious  (Message to teenagers -- don't waste time in High School -- get the grades and learn, you'll never be sorry!!!)

After the first semester, I decided to be a student council member... I ran and was Commissioner of Campus Improvement. I took it fairly seriously and did some good things.... like bookshelves in the bathrooms!  I was hard to do your job while balancing books...

Second Semester I Ran for President... and lost!  Wasn't sure why except no one thought a one-semester member should make president.  I didn't give up.  I volunteered to be the Commissioner of University Camp... a fund raiser for poor students.. I was quite successful actually!

Second Attempt Was A Charm - Ran and became the student body present... quite an eventful year.  I was an officer in the CJCSGA (California Junior College Student Government Association) and in the middle of our annual meeting between 100 other colleges, Present Kennedy was assassinated!  I took the position we should go on with the meeting... and we did!

USC

Frat HouseThen it was off to the University Of Southern California... all my friends went to UCLA so naturally I wanted USC.  WoW!  $30 a unit... can you image paying $600/semester??

Los Angeles was little more than a frontier town in the 1870s, when members of the Methodist Episcopal Conference first sought to establish a university in the region. Although the city still lacked paved streets, electric lights, telephones and a reliable fire alarm system, the idea found an enthusiastic reception among Los Angeles more far-sighted residents.


In those early years the founders could not have foreseen that Southern California would rapidly grow into one of the most dynamic and influential regions in the world, or that the University of Southern California would one day be a world-class research university. Nor could they have predicted how important their university would be in the explosive development of the region.

CollegeSo, I arrived with a burning desire to become and Electronics Engineer! And I took the first set of classes and what do you think? Vacuum Tube technology!  Thanks to Ham Radio, I was already working with IC's and transistors...  So I switched to my second love... History!

My first day on campus, these "nice boys" from something called a Fraternity introduced themselves... It was Joe Tracy! They said," Come on by the house and meet the gang"

Boeing LogoThe last year I needed to pay the bills so I joined North American Aviation in Downey working on the Apollo Program!  I became an engineer the hard way... doing it!  I worked nights 6PM to 2AM as a test engineer on the Apollo 3, 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, and 15 spacecrafts.

 

And here I am 40+ years later and retired!!!

While at USC I joined the Chi Phi Fraternity and met great people such as Ted Higgs who I just got email from after 35 years, Gary Ashcraft who daughter I now work with! E Gad, I am old!! Bob Meyers , Don McCoy, Joe Tracy, Bill James, Bruce Inzer, and all the rest. The old frat house was pretty nice. College Memories.