| WEST L.A. – I hosted 10 undergrad students at my home on Saturday night (Mar. 5) as part of the Student Alumni Association’s “Dinner for 12 Strangers”. Maybe you heard about it when on campus but never considered attending. That was me, and this year, I decided to host it – figured to give back to the Bruin community that was so helpful to me as an active on my own in Los Angeles after moving from Phoenix. I invited all the Upsilon alumni whom I know to attend, but not a single one replied ‘yes’! Well, you all missed out because nine of the 10 students were lady Bruins, and they were eager to hear the wise advice of campus sages like us. (Check out the picture.) Hosting it is easy – I was very informal, mainly because I don’t have any nice furniture or china. I grilled fish and made a polenta casserole. I had beer, wine and margies, but no one drank anything but lemonade! An SAA student representative attended, as did an assistant professor of material science, a nice gent named Vivdus, who hails from Latvia. We had plenty of interesting conversations, and I relayed the stories of Kerry O’Hairball picking a fight with Cory Paus in a bar in Seattle after the Washington game this year and my semi-friendship with former hoops coach Steve Lavin. The students are more involved in charity and the community than the students (including me) I remember, which was impressive. They were less impressed by my fraternity glory days stories, though they seemed amused by them. (This is probably because this event attracts more go-getters than card players.). All in all, a good experience. I encourage you to host a dinner next year. There were 70 dinners this year, but still, many students were not selected because too few hosts volunteered. |
