Griff Stone, '89 BS

It may sound cliche, but where do I start? I graduated from ASU College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Technology Division, back in 1989. Just getting to ASU was a story in itself as I had started my college career at Boston University, transferred to St. Lawrence U., transferred AGAIN to University of Wisconsin Madison. Back then, I was trying to make those school's ice hockey teams -- and finally landed in Tempe when I realized that I was not as good an ice hockey player as I had believed. 
To this day, I still owe a great deal of gratitude to Technology Division Professor Schiligan. I wish I could let him know what he did for me and how much gratitude I have for him after a single, incredibly important meeting so many years ago at his office! After three years in the Lower-Division of the College of Architecture as an Industrial Design major, my portfolio was not "up to snuff" although my grades were decent. I was not permitted entry into the College of Architecture Upper-Division. Do they still have the upper-lower divide with a need to apply to go to upper level in the College of Architecture? I do not know the answer as this was back in the 1980s. My last year was at ASU was the year they constructed the underground library instead of the regular above ground Hayden Library. Anyway, I had accumulated an unparalleled diversity of class credits both at my former institutions as well as ASU. I needed to GET OUT OF SCHOOL already as I was already 24. I somehow had a chance meeting at the Technology Division with Professor Shiligan in his Technology Division office. He suggested that I could apply all of my diverse credits as the specialization portion of the requirement to become an Industrial Supervision Major in the Technology Division of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and be out of school at the end of the year. All I had to do was take an intense senior year including a fall semester of 21 credits (six classes I believe) in the Industrial Management core classes. I somehow received a high enough GPA that semester to receive "Dean's List Honors" on my transcript. The next semester, I believe it was only 18 credits needed, and "walked graduation" that spring, and officially graduating after taking an introductory level chemistry class that summer. It was sheer relief that I finally graduated from college! I went on to become a U.S. Federal Agent for 23 years and spent two years as an Analyst after retiring as a "Fed." I am now retired living in Thailand after living two years in Medellin, Colombia. I must say that one of the highlights and greatest achievements during my working career was going back to school part-time and receiving my Master's degree (M.A.) in Political Science with an emphasis in International Relations and Comparative Politics from San Diego State University while living and working in San Diego, California. I spent most of my professional career in Southern California as well as Arizona. If there is any way that I can thank Professor Shiligan -- I do not even recall his first name -- for what he did for me so many years ago, I would be more than happy to. Thank you for allowing me to share my story.