Page 16 - MY STORY

3) One of our junior year classes was a thesis based on a

library review of a selected and approved metallurgical
subject. Our entire grade was based solely on our written
and oral presentation of the treatise. I selected a treatise

on Sintered Tungsten Carbide Tools, mainly because my
interest had peaked in the world of powder metallurgy. I
still have that written treatise with its “A” grade.

However, my oral presentation (to my well-known
classmates) was an unmitigated disaster. My kneecaps,
and voice, continued to shake during the entire

presentation, and I simply could not put the findings
together in a reasonable and substantive manner. I

realized that I might have to get more comfortable in front
of an audience and signed up the following semester for a
Public Speaking class. That did not help – my knee caps
continued to shake when I was required to present to the

class, and I skipped as many classes as possible settling
for a “C” with gratitude. Fear of public speaking haunted

me until – more later.

My college years were singularly unremarkable in terms

of outside activity related to school. No drinking buddies
(I did not drink), no frats (I lived at home), no sports (all
we had was a gravel lot). By the end of my senior year,

all thought was on escape. It almost did not happen. Just