Education Connection

A few weekend ago Hawaii had a sort of High School Fair, where departments set up tables on campus and tried to lure unsuspecting high school seniors into their respective fields of study. Since I was doing nothing that Saturday and our adviser was looking for volunteers, I went to check things out. The entire affair was scattered all over the campus. Every department had set up around its building, which meant that many of them were hidden. The Asian Studies table was at Moore Hall, an H shaped, five story building surrounded by a lava stone wall. The tables were set up in the small court under the building, and were completely invisible. We didn't see a single student come by the entire day. If I were prone to generalizations I would see this as indication that scholastic types really do have a disability when it comes to marketing.

When I arrived there were five or six people at the table, including an older woman who I shared an introductory class with. When I approached the table she smiled at me, handed me a brochure and asked me if I was interested in the Asian Studies program at Hawaii. I smiled back and told here that I was a college senior in that very program, and furthermore, that we were classmates.

Granted, she's always in the front, I come in through the back, and our class is relatively big at 30 some people. We had a good laugh and got to know each other. Of course I can't remember her name (I'm a horrible person.) but her path up to Hawaii was fascinating. With no prospective students to woo, we spend most of the day talking.

As I was walking home I got to thinking about the sort of relationships I've fallen into during my stay in Hawaii. I love the academics, and I love talking to people who love the academics, but my day to day life is devoid of meaningful contact with them. I only have one semester left. In high school people used to say that the friendships made in college were the ones that would last you a lifetime. I've certainly made good friends, and some of them have lasted through not only time but geographical separation, but when it comes to what I want to do with my life, I know very few people who share my passion professionally and are also good friends on a personal level.

Whether this is due to my action (or inaction) or is a consequence of events I can't quite say, but I think if this drought of professional friendships were to end, perhaps my trepidation about graduation would fade a bit too.