Alumni tell us: What led you to choose Ohio State?
More than 280 alumni wrote in to share why they decided this was the right school for them. Here are a baker’s dozen of the answers.
Dr. John Robert Hutson II ’68 has a fun answer for why he picked Ohio State: “I was offered scholarships to Notre Dame and Ohio State, but there were no girls at Notre Dame,” he says.
Coming to Columbus worked out for him: In German class his senior year, he sat next to a pretty blonde named Susan Serksnis. This month, they celebrate 55 years of marriage.
Here are more reasons why alumni chose Ohio State.
“Archie Griffin. Growing up in New York State, my knowledge of and connection to the offerings and benefits of OSU were limited, but I loved watching college football with my father. As an early teen I recall watching my favorite player, No. 45, and my love for Ohio State football was cemented.” — Lisa Murray Hughes ’82
“The Maximus scholarship.” — Brennan J. Barrington ’18
“Does it count that my favorite color is red and I look good in scarlet?” — Linda Whiteman Uhrenholt ’73
“I grew up in Dayton, Ohio, and Ohio State was neither too close, nor too far away for me to have a ‘classic’ college experience living in a dorm, attending football games, etc. Neither a private university nor out-of-state campus was financially plausible; I was not a scholarship candidate nor an athlete.” — Susan Bennett ’68
“The quarter system. Picking a semester school would have meant spending another Christmas at my Army station in Korea. Once was enough!” — Thomas Fitzsimmonds ’57
“I am a fourth-generation Buckeye. It was preordained. If there were any doubts, they were dismissed when I received a two-year scholarship. I am now 81 and the proud holder of three academic degrees and two certificates of additional education.” — Calvin Smith Jr. ’64, ’65 MA, ’71 PhD
“Family tradition, starting with my grandfather Rufus E. Merry Jr. Plus, the marching band had recently started admitting females and I wanted to try out. (I made it).” — Carol Merry ’79
“I happened to visit campus and felt immediately at home. The possibilities felt endless.” — Sarah Hrusovsky Corbin ’08
“I did not know what major to pursue and Ohio State has so many options.” — Constance Cangialosi Semler ’72
“They had the major (astronomy) I wanted.” — Col. Tom Adinaro III ’69
“I was attending another university close by. I had a number of friends attending Ohio State and saw that they were having a lot more fun than I was. I transferred in the fall of ’68 and met my future husband in a geography class in Haggerty Hall in the winter of ‘69 when we were assigned as lab partners.” — Cheryl Rolf Phalen ’70
“My parents said I could go to any college I wanted, but they were only paying for Ohio State. Kinda made the decision easy.” — L. Michael Howard ’72, ’83 MA
