Visiting Michigan Technological University - A Day at College in the Keweenau Peninsula

Selecting a college is one of the monumental tasks facing most high school seniors. A recent visit to Michigan Technological University (MTU) in the pristine wilderness of the Keweenau Peninsula offered a unique and educational perspective. Son Vincent and I drove a full day north of Saint Ignace to reach this unusual setting. MTU Admissions packed a full schedule and ample opportunity to judge their student body, campus (dorms, cafeterias, athletics, radio station, etc...) and academic facilities (labs, classrooms, meetings with departmental representatives.) Arriving in the middle of a blizzard, we braved the elements to learn about this singular college setting, walking away with a taste of the spirited and hardy Huskies. Come and share our adventure and learn a bit about Michigan Tech!

First off, Vincent completed an early application and was accepted to MTU just prior to our visit. Students need to get college board scores (ACT & SAT) forwarded to prospective colleges, along with official high school transcripts. Most institutions of higher learning offer fairly comprehensive on-line tours, highlighting tuition costs, academic specialties and degrees available, scholarship packages, residence hall choices, maps, admissions procedures/standards and a plethora of essential information. Once the field is narrowed, on-site visits can be crucial to the decision-making process. MTU is an outstanding technical university, but they offer liberal arts, social science, general business and teaching degree programs as well. It's a smaller sized college, but if you're looking at an Engineering, Math, or Science based degree program, they're ranked at the top, nation-wide. Vincent met with departmental leaders in both a technical and non-technical department, using this opportunity to learn more about two diverse career paths. The MTU Admissions Department did an outstanding job in packing the most into our day.

Because of the travel distances involved, we arrived the night prior to our tour, entering the Houghton/Hancock area in the middle of a severe winter storm. One of the highlights of our trip was chancing upon the students feverishly building their huge snow sculptures for the upcoming winter festival. Although storms like this are fairly common (5-6 per season,) the campus endured a very unusual winter drought of snow; therefore, a huge lack of "building material" for the sculptures. The excitement and enthusiasm welcoming the storm was incredible ... even in the dark, the students continued to work with the aid of huge spotlights focusing in on their sculptures. What an amazing scene greeted us!

Our day began bright and early, meeting at the Admissions Office at about 8:30 a.m. Because of the storm, we were the only people touring campus that day. Our Visitors Package included an updated itinerary, and we met our student guide for the "Up Campus" portion of the tour. Luckily, we enjoyed the first part of the visit in the warmth of a van and headed off to see some of the athletic buildings, academic areas, and university landmarks. It was a blustery, snowy day, but the campus roads (as well as those of the surrounding community) are well maintained. The 6-8 inches of snowfall through the evening hours had been swept away long before our arrival and crews remained on hand to deal with any drifting and blowing snow. In a campus this far north, classes would be canceled often if the snow removal wasn't top-drawer.

One of our most impressive stops was at the epicenter of athletics, the Student Development Complex. We saw racket ball and squash courts, their huge, 8-lane swimming pool and dive tank, fitness centers, the John J. MacInnes Student Ice Arena and beautiful volleyball and basketball courts. The varsity gym was breathtaking, but Vincent was especially interested in the Pistol Club, down in the basement. We got an enthusiastic briefing from a former Marine who runs the place, and he did an outstanding job in describing their programs and clubs. There's almost too many choices of activities! Obviously we didn't even get a good view of their football/soccer fields under the blanket of snow. One of the few competitive sports requiring a participation fee is Broomball Intramurals. This competition is intense, fast and furious, and even a bit comedic. Be sure to check out their Broomball cameras, it's one of the most competitive leagues on campus! Another interesting athletic group is the Co-rec Innertube Water Polo team. Nearby Mont Ripley (just across the canal between Houghton and its sister-city Hancock) can be seen from campus: Nordic Skiing, Alpine Racing; Snowboarding. The "Experience Tech" initiative allows students to enjoy these recreational facilities for FREE, and our tour guide pointed out that learning these sports often serves to fill physical education requirements.

After a mid-morning break, the Up-Campus Tour guide handed us over to her counterpart, a handsome young gentleman who guided us through the dormitories, more classrooms and computer labs, the Mineral Museum, and hosted us for lunch at Wadsworth Hall. Both guides were wonderful in accommodating a few extra requests we had for our tour. In the morning, Erin went the extra distance to get us into the locked pool area, as it was so early in the day. She helped us work out the various schedules, clubs, and sports that were of particular interest to Vincent. In the second tour, we detoured up to the Mineral Museum on the fifth floor of Electrical Resources Center. Here we saw huge sheets of copper, a beautiful display of geodes, crystals and other rocks. There was even a light show, where certain pieces were illuminated with light rays to show off their hidden properties.

We also detoured through Douglass Houghton Hall (DHH,) a smaller dormitory close to the academic buildings. Since Vince's good friend Fletcher already decided to attend MTU and stay in DHH, we wanted to capture some photos for him. DHH appealed to me more than any other residence hall I've toured. It reminds me of my college days, living in an all-girl dormitory at Michigan State University. There's dark wood walls, the old display posters, a personable Resident Advisor (RA,) and the front desk looked just like the one where I worked as a night receptionist so many years ago. Unlike my dorm, this residence hall boasts a sauna and the stone fireplace in the living room gives of an aura of a Tudor mansion. Some things remain the same, students were scurrying up and down the halls, rushing to classes, lunch, and other destinations.

We ate lunch in Wadsworth Hall's cafeteria, a huge place offering a wide variety of meal options. They have short order cooks, ethnic and vegetarian options, traditional home cooked meals, huge salad/vegetable bars, and a wide choice of fruits, ice cream, and other desserts each day. With a large group of international students attending MTU, the food choices are varied and interesting. I'm so impressed with the expanded hours and meal options offered to college students today. In the late 1970's and early 1980's, we were stuck with a three meal times and a couple choices each meal, not much better than the old high school cafeterias. Cafeteria hours were short, you had to make special arrangements to eat outside your own dorm, and nothing was offered late in the evening unless you were paying out-of-pocket. The first thing I did in college was to find a dorm (Williams Hall) where I could cook for myself. Now students can use their cards at any dormitory on campus, and there's extra money/food credits built in for use at the many meal and snack shops that dot the campus. The residence halls themselves are open extended hours and late into the evening.

Following lunch we toured through some additional classrooms and performing arts areas. I was amazed at the advanced facilities offered at a college less than a quarter of the size of where I went to school. Although known as a technological university, MTU does offer a wide range of liberal arts and social science options. A few of the young men I met boasted that their dating strategies included tutoring the less-technically adept in some of the math and science requisite coursework.

Our afternoon was filled with meetings and tours of a technical type college major (Surveying) and a meeting with the head of the History Department in the Social Sciences. When I first scheduled our tour, the admissions receptionist wasn't even quite sure of the history major but recovered saying, "Oh yes, I think they're over there with the Social Sciences." That made me laugh, coming from a Social Science degree option at a school with a huge number of schools included under that banner. By the time we arrived though, everyone was well informed about the history department and where to find them.

The Surveying Engineering visit was fascinating for both of us. Eugene Levin, PhD and the Surveying Engineering Geomatics Program Coordinator, and his trusty aide, met with us in a conference room and we got the Grand Tour! They showed us the types of classes, the job market we're facing today, enrollment and study abroad options, as well as giving us the supporting pamphlets and paperwork. The exciting part was getting into their equipment area, labs, and meeting with the young students, a large, friendly team of young men working in a demanding field. If you want employment, get yourself to MTU and study survey engineering! The field is in such demand that they don't even offer summer coursework as all of their students (and staff, I presume) are paid so well during summer internships and course-related work. We saw the mini-museum of old surveying stakes, extracted from their original positioning in the Keweenau Peninsula. Beautiful brass instruments and their (expensive) modern, computerized equivalents and how they're used is just part of the story . We learned about surveying the ocean and how half of the job is field work, while the other half involves follow-up on computers, entering data, analysis, and basically making the information useful. Personally, I wanted to enroll myself in the program that day! I brought all the duplicate paperwork home to share with our township supervisor and his son, who is studying and surveying, too.

Touring the History Department was another adventure. The department chair there, Patrick Martin, met with us personally, in his office. Even though we threw this stop in at the last minute, he was well-prepared with a well-stocked folder/presentation for each of us. On more familiar ground here, I was no less impressed by all the career options and unique courses of study offered if Vincent chose to major in history at MTU. Doctor Martin earned his PhD at my alma mater, so that was nice to see on his wall! He is actually an Industrial Archaeologist, too. He talked about different students and the way they made their degrees and coursework in his department work for them. He discussed the important contacts made during field study and internships. Not one to gloss over the challenges facing social science majors, he was quick to give advice to my son on all the possibilities of interdepartmental studies, graduate studies, overseas options, and possibilities for making graduates productive and marketable. Dr. Martin was just as passionate as Dr. Levin in his dedication to students, technical expertise, and devotion to the field of study.

Overall, Vincent and I were most impressed with the genuine enthusiasm, state-of-the-art facilities, computer labs and general atmosphere at Michigan Tech. Students all seem to know one another and the teamwork atmosphere at this school is distinctive. The faculty and staff work hard to offer a huge range of academic, sporting, and social activities for the young adults living in and around campus. The setting, far North in the Keweenau Peninsula, is spectacular and much closer to the natural beauty of Upper Michigan than any place I've been. Check this campus out and when you visit, be sure to stay a couple days and enjoy all the complimentary passes offered. Michigan Tech does a great job in showcasing their campus and the unique nature of this topflight university. Stop at Gemangani's Italian restaurant in nearby Hancock for the best Italian food I've had since leaving Italy. I wonder if 52 is too old to start college again?

This article is devoted to Fletcher Swanson and his mom. I doubt we'd have made it to MTU without their enthusiasm for physics and mathematics. Their dedication to higher education and the natural beauty of Upper Peninsula is contagious. I'd also like to thank Dale & Nick Nelson for sparking an interest in Survey Engineering.