Today’s Project 100 memory comes from Rebecca Gross.  She was born in Plainfield and raised in South Plainfield, New Jersey.  She attended public schools for the most part and graduated from South Plainfield High School in 1998.  Until her mother retired in 2016, she was Presiding Judge of all Municipal in Courts in Union County.  Her mother went to undergraduate at Douglas College before it merged with Rutgers.  For law school, she attended Columbia.  Her father attended Livingstone College, which was part of Rutgers.   Her father worked in sales for American Telephone & Telegraph.  She has a younger brother named Paul.  Even before graduating from Rowan University with degrees in history and K-8 education in 2003, she began working in the South Plainfield school district at the Grant School teaching sixth grade social studies.  She continues to teach there today and will enter her 20^th year in the Fall of 2023.

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I wanted to stay in New Jersey for college.  I would be just 17 in the Fall, and I did not want to be too far away from my family.  I remember visiting Rowan University with my parents.  The University had a good College of Education, and the rest of the University was large enough if I changed majors, I would have many options.  My father really liked Rowan during the visit, and he refused to go on any other college visits, predicting that Rowan was on the way up and that the degree would be more valuable in the future.  I actually wanted to go to Rider University, but it was too expensive for my parents, so I was not allowed to go there.  I actually didn’t hear from Rowan, as they were later than other colleges in sending out their acceptances.  So, I thought I was going to go to Ramapo College, but I remember coming home from track practice, and my brother telling me the letter was on the dining room table.

I was in a protective bubble at home with my family, and Rowan was a big change in my life.  The plan was for me live to in Evergreen dormitory, as it was the all-girls dormitory.  However, they shifted to Evergreen being half co-ed and half women.  That still could have worked for my family, but I ended up on the co-ed side.  This was fine with me, but my parents and, especially, my grandmother were incensed.  To give you some sense of their concern about me, they put my name on every single item I took to my dorm room, including my pants.  My moving away was a very big deal to them.  Another moment that my parents still tell their friends about is when I naively called them for help when a friend of mine, at a party, got alcohol poisoning.  I was not aware that you did not call your parents for help on such matters. 

I honestly owe a lot to the History Department at Rowan.  I always loved history, and I had a great high school history program.  So, history was an easy choice as my coordinate major with elementary education.  Things that I learned there are things I still use in my teaching to this day.  I remember all my professors.  The one I want discuss first is Gary Hunter, who passed away in 2003.  I am probably going to cry thinking about him, but I remember that he made me laugh.  Sometimes on the outside, but often on the inside.  He reminded me of my parents and their friends.  He was one of those people from the generation of activists who knew what they were about.  When I had trouble with assignments, he was very compassionate and understanding.  There were obnoxious students in the two classes that I had with him.  They probably did not have much experience with faculty of color.  They wanted things exactly as they wanted it.  I appreciated the way he handled these entitled people but still taught the class the way he wanted to.  Now that I have more teaching experience, I understand more why those students were the way they were, and I admire even more how Dr. Hunter handled the situation.  He had a great love and passion for what he taught.  He had so much to share his knowledge, and I remember these great tangents that he went on when he felt when we needed to know something particular, even if it was not part of the official curriculum.

I now want to talk about taking Historical Methods with you, Dr. Carrigan.  I remember your accent and “twang” as well as being impressed with your previous teaching experiences at Spelman College and Emory University.  I remember both your writing assignments and your reading selections.  Your 250-word limit for abstracts was challenging.  I am also still scarred by “The Great Cat Massacre” article.  I can still hear your voice in my head sometimes when I am teaching.

There were many other faculty members I liked as well.  One was Pat McDevitt who later left. I remember his “Sports and History” class, and I still use what I learned from him about sports being a means of assimilation and a sign of class distinctions.  I also have good memories of Melissa Klapper, Janet Lindman, and Jim Heinzen.  In Dr. Heinzen’s class, I still remember a very influential week where we read and discussed James Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me.  That day’s conversation influences things I do all the way to the present. I had great experiences in the History Department, and I still recommend the Department to my students and friends.  

My memories of the History Department are all positive.  They are memories of discovery, validation, and growth.  Outside of the classroom, I am still friends to this day with four people that I met at Rowan, which tells you a bit about my experience at Glassboro.  One of them is fellow history major, Yvonne Folkes Randall.  Beyond these dear friends, I also remember fantastic conversations with folks who I never met again. Overall, college was, for me, a challenging time, but in a good way as it the time that I grew up and became the person that I am today.

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This is part of the Department of History’s “Project 100,” the collection and sharing of one hundred memories by Glassboro State College and Rowan University alumni and staff in celebration of the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Glassboro Normal School, later Glassboro State College, and now Rowan University.  Thanks to Laurie Lahey for helping proofread and edit the final versions.  Email carrigan@rowan.edu with questions or corrections.  You can find the Link to all of the Project 100 entries on the Web:  https://chss.rowan.edu/departments/history/alumni_highlights/project_100/