May is here, and that's the month most associated with college commencements. That's why we see a photo of my alma mater today. It's Marywood University. It was Marywood College in my day.
I shot this one with my widest lens and left it wide. I did crop the foreground a bit. I wanted to leave a lot of sky.
The building on the left contains offices. It was a dorm in my day. The one on the right was and is a dorm. I've never been inside.
In the center, it's the Liberal Arts Center. A spectacular rotunda is in the middle, with classrooms on both sides. This is where I struggled through all those religion, philosophy, world history, literature and French classes. I'd gaze out the windows and wonder if I would make it. I did. In fact, there was a great sense of satisfaction when I came out of there with an unexpected B, or in the case of social science, something even better.
My first time in the rotunda was in the summer of 79. I went there to pick up a packet of information for new students from the admissions office, which is in the back of the building. If you've never been inside, I strongly recommend it. This is one of our area's gems. But, for a kid coming from a really bad public high school, it was ultra intimidating. I remember getting weak in the knees as I looked up at the dome and the artwork, all the marble, the religious paintings on the walls... I feared I made a huge mistake, and I was destined for failure.
Try hard. You can do it.
I should add that I never toured the place before I applied. Thank you, feeble high school guidance department. I never knew you could do those things. I read about Marywood and was attracted to the fact that it had a real radio station. The rest was paperwork and writing checks.