The next stop was with the academic advisors. We each got our own, and I wasn’t surprised when they had our academic records. I met a woman who was in her early thirties and seemed way too serious. She introduced herself as Barbara Cardona.
“Do you know what you want to take in college?” she asked.
“I have a variety of interests. I do know I want to take some business classes so I understand what my COO shows me,” I said.
That led to a discussion about my businesses, modeling, and acting. I then told her I might someday want to go into politics.
“Do you plan to get your law degree?” Ms. Cardona asked.
“I would like to have that option. And I might want to get an MBA as well.”
“I see you do well in school. Are you planning to focus on football or your education?” she asked.
Had she talked to Tami?
“Football is just a means to an end. I plan to use my education once I graduate.”
“The reason I ask is that you’d be a perfect fit for our honors program for Letters and Science. A student needs 24 Honors credits. Of those, six must be in Social Science courses, six in Arts & Humanities, six in Natural Science, and six credits in an area or areas of your choice. These classes are much smaller, with maybe ten to twelve students in each. You’d be exposed to some of our brightest minds as teachers and students. It would give you a broad base that you could use as a jumping-off point for more focused studies moving forward,” Ms. Cardona explained.
I appreciated her taking the time to help clarify things for me. I looked over at my dad, who’d been quiet the whole time.
“Did I miss anything?” I asked.
“No. Your mom would approve, so we’re good.”
I knew he was right. I wasn’t going to get away with taking ‘Rocks for Jocks,’ even in college.
◊◊◊
Then we went back at the athletic department. Coach Bud was waiting for us.
“How’d the tour and academics go?” he asked.
“Which fraternity is the best one for us to join?” I asked.
Whack.
‘Ow!’ I complained after my dad smacked the back of my head.
“I hope you’re joking. Playing quarterback will be almost a full-time job,” Coach Bud shared.
“David will have time for his studies, though?” Dad asked.
“Oh, sorry. Yes. We provide tutors and all the help he’ll need. We take academics seriously.”
Nice save, not. Wolf, Tim, and I looked at each other, and I couldn’t help it. I began to laugh.
“Sorry. Dad now thinks we’ll be working out 24/7 and flunk out,” I explained.
“Maybe I should let the coaches explain it,” Coach Bud said, realizing the less he said at this point, the better.
When we met with the coaches, they said all the right things. I was reminded several times that Russell Wilson had graduated here and that they felt I would have an excellent path to the NFL if I committed to Wisconsin. I decided not to point out that Russell Wilson had graduated before this coaching staff took over the program.
Personally, that wasn’t a big worry for me. I figured if I had the talent, I could make my way to the NFL. Of course, some paths might be easier than others.
◊◊◊
When we were done, we took a tour of some Frank Lloyd Wright homes. The first was the John and Ruth Pew House. It was a private, single-family residence located along the shores of Lake Mendota in the Shorewood Hills neighborhood, built in 1937. It sat on a hillside that overlooked the lake. The two-story home had a large wooden balcony that wrapped around the exterior of the first story.
The living room had a large fireplace at one end of the room. It was interesting to see all the planks of wood that made up the ceilings and the bookshelves that were built in. It looked like the home was part of the landscape, and the floor-to-ceiling windows gave you a perfect view of the lake.
The second house we saw was the Herbert and Katherine Jacobs House, which was located in Westmorland, and also built in 1937. Tim explained that this house was the purest and most famous application of Wright’s Usonian concepts. This was right at the end of the Great Depression, and Frank Lloyd Wright realized that housing had to change. He wanted to build homes that were affordable housing for middle-class families, and that would redefine how people thought of their living spaces. He tried to create houses that were tailor-made for the client and their individual needs, while at the same time making them practical and functional.
The home was made of brick and wood. I liked how he had floor-to-ceiling windows for views and to let sunlight in but placed smaller windows high up towards the ceiling to allow for more wall space.
I gave our side trip high marks. Tim had gotten to see what he wanted, and I learned some things.
◊◊◊
On the way home, the three of us compared notes. While we gave Wisconsin a score of 8 out of 10, it was eliminated as a possible destination because they didn’t have a school of architecture. Tim said if we still decided to go, he could make it work by taking engineering classes, so we left the door open slightly.
The goal of these trips was to eliminate programs, and we’d just eliminated the first one.
We all got onto social media and thanked our hosts for a wonderful experience and said nice things about them. There was no need to burn any bridges at this point.
It did seem that our not including one university in our visits had gotten their attention. Caryn sent me a picture of the recruiting letters I received from the University of Kentucky on Saturday. I was impressed they’d sent 25. She sent a stack from this week, and I was glad I wasn’t the one getting buried in mail. This recruiting business was getting to be nuts.
◊◊◊
Chapter 6 – Something That Won’t Get Me Fired Monday September 5
I skipped the dojo tonight so I could go to my mom’s real estate office. She’d gotten a new listing, and I was assigned to take photos for my photography class. Mom took me to a ranch-style home that was your basic three-bedroom, two-bath, two-car garage on a quarter-acre lot.
“When I shoot a home, I try to do it the same way every time. The Multiple Listing Service allows up to thirty-six pictures, so don’t skimp. I like to start with the outside and then work my way inside. Most realtors just take the traditional head-on shot and try to get as much of the side yard in the picture as possible to frame the photo,” she said.
I stepped out into the road and did as she suggested. I made sure I didn’t have the other houses in the shot and then noticed Mom’s car in the driveway. She chuckled and moved it. She was just making sure I was paying attention.
Mom joined me on the road.
“What’s wrong with this view? Think in terms of putting the house in the best possible light to sell,” Mom coached.
“If I were being picky, I see that the curtains are closed in some windows, the blinds are halfway down in that one, and the flowerpots aren’t lined up. Oh, and the hedge could be trimmed.”
She handed me the keys and sent me inside to fix the curtains and blinds. I came out, and she’d rearranged the flowerpots.
“Think of a house as a commodity. When you have several that look pretty much alike in a subdivision like this, you want yours to look the best. It’s why they pay people to ‘face’ canned goods in a grocery store. Someone figured out that they sold more if the aisles looked neat,” she explained.
The house was vacant. Mom explained it was much harder to shoot an empty home than one that was furnished. For the next hour and a half, we shot the house at almost every angle imaginable. I learned some practical techniques like not to shoot a mirror straight-on because the picture would show your reflection. Mom didn’t buy my suggestion that having me in the photo was a selling point.