I came to Poly from Brooklyn Technical High School in 1954. I chose chemical engineering because it seemed interesting and my other friends were taking electrical engineering, so I wanted to be different.
During my first semester at Poly I did not pay proper attention to my studies and got a few D's making my grade point average just below 2.0. Of course, Dean Mittendorf sent my parents a letter warning of my poor academic standing. That was a turning point in my life at Poly. I changed friends and sought new friends who were doing well. The next semester my grades improved and I was removed from the Deans watch list.
I also took a liking to ROTC. I liked the marching and the military classes so I joined the Pershing Rifles where I met a great group of students. Below is a photo of the Pershing Rifles taken on the steps of the Livingstone Street Building (I am the tallest one in the center of the last row).
The above team performed in trick drill competitions with other companies from regional schools.
During my sophmore year I applied for senior ROTC and was accepted. I attended summer camp at Ft. Belvoir between the junior and senior years. The leadership lessions learned have always helped me out during my career.
Below is photo taken at graduation from poly. I graduated in 1958 with a B.Ch.E. ROTC grads wore their uniforms and were given their 2nd LT bars.
Even though Poly did not have a so called campus, one of the yearly activities which I enjoyed was field day.