From the Alumni Network Facebook group, Jim A. posted “I’m taking my son on college visits and it reminds me of my first visit to Tech. What was your first visit like?”
“My parents were crazy enough to let me drive alone to MTU for a visit. Some guys from my HS were there and it was the weekend of the POR race. Needless to say I had a blast and fell in love with the area. My mom said when I got home she knew I was going to MTU” -Annette K.
“Lots of great summer visits in junior high and high school to visit my sister who was at Tech. She graduated and I didn’t go back until a handful of year later for my move in weekend.”
-Michelle C.
“My parents took me up in January of my junior year, thinking it would deter me. Walking down college Ave all the statues were being built by all those boys in one place! I was in love!”
-Lisa C.
“Orientation 1975!! Weather was sunny and in the eighties!!” -Tom H.
“My first visit was when my mom dropped me off. I went to Tech sight unseen, solely on reputation.” -Cathi M.
“Easter weekend (1964?) and snow up to our knees!!!” -Stan S.
“2 summers and Women in Engineering one summer. Didn’t have an official campus visit like the kids all do these days. I just knew after those summers that MTU was the place for me!”
-Dawn P.
“I went up with my Dad on a rainy fall weekend in ‘84. Back then, you could stay overnight in Wads. It was weird being the only person in this huge room in the basement. Someone came home around 2 am, got out the boom box. I remember opening the door and hollering for them to turn it down. We tried to go to a football game, but changed our minds because of the rain. Went to a hockey game instead, first one ever, and loved the game and the crowd! It was fabulous!” -Ris B.
“Amazing! I fell in love with the slow pace of life… it gave me a place to take myself away from life to focus on learning! No rush hour… a place of absolute serenity… gods country! I miss it!” -Matthew D.
“I had planned to go to LSSU to follow my crush. My mom convinced me to check out Tech too. Funnily enough, our car broke down in Marquette and neither of us thought to go to check out NMU while we waited. Got to campus and I said “what crush?” -Elizabeth L.
“I was on my way to visit University of Minnesota and my mom made us stop at Tech “just to see” and I never made it to U of M it was sleeting and 30 in March!” -Ashley V.
“45* and sleeting in August. My brother and I still chose to go to Tech, but the friend that went with us thought it was absolutely miserable and we were crazy.” -Erin F
“Had lunch in McNair, and happened to be at a table right next to the girls volleyball team. :-)” -Nathan S
“I went to the paintball field, and was hooked” -Mikel M.
“I went in the middle of summer and it was HOT and dry. Very unusual weather. But I fell in love with the place just the same.” -Jim A.
“St. Patrick’s Day week of 1979. Three of us road tripped up from lower Michigan. Four feet of snow pack on the ground and we hit several bars. Everyone graduated!” -Mark S.
” Also a senior in high school, went in October. The fall colors were in full force. I remember like it was yesterday” -Scotty G.
“I was a senior in HS visiting my sister at Tech in DHH…” -Jean C.
“That’s when the snowball fight with DHH & Wads broke out across 41!!!🤣”
“I went to Open House in the fall of my junior high school for my first trip. It was a fairly warm fall day. Beautiful fall colors. I was from the Central UP, but the colors were more beautiful than anything I’d seen in the Central UP! I went back for a campus tour with some friends the next summer and it was over 90 degrees!” -Mary K.
“Visited my older sister who was attending there. Went to summer youth a couple years- loved it – and attended.” -Lisa B.
“Didn’t do a visit, but had traveled many times to Ashland Wisconsin from northern Indiana growing up to visit relatives and knew I liked the north woods pace. I was accepted at Purdue in the cornfields, Madison in the City, and MTU in the woods. Since I was going into Forestry I thought it was a no brainer. Came up summer of 77 for orientation and I’m still here :-). Retired from MTU 3 years ago” -Bob G.
“Visited during Winter Carnival! My HS Chemistry teacher was a Tech alumnae and a UP native – her parents lived near Hancock. She had an MTU poster in the lab and recruited me for Biology (her major with a chemistry minor). She convinced me and another classmate to take one of buses chartered for Carnival from Detroit and we stayed at her parents. She still had connections with Blue Key so we had tix to hockey, the skits and enjoyed the statues and being introduced to broomball. Needless to say I and my classmate both went to Tech” -Deborah D.
Never north of the Bridge until my parents brought me up from Detroit for my freshman year, 1966. Back then all the frosh came up a week before classes started for Orientation. I loved it! Five years later I left with a degree and a wife (one of the few coeds). I think the ratio was about 22:1 at that time. We’re still Yoopers!