The Tower Fall 2020 - 6

DIRECTOR'S CORNER

Some places in life deserve another
visit and Thaddeus Stevens College
of Technology is one of those
wonderful places.
Alex Munro's 1960
yearbook photograph

H
Alex B. Munro
Executive Director

ello, my dear alumni and
friends: It's with great
hesitation and unsettled
emotions that I'm writing my
last and final article about my
precious and unforgettable alma
mater. Locked in a special little
box I found endless, wonderful
memories and experiences
I enjoyed during the most
pleasurable, life-changing
three years of my life. I had no
idea that the best was yet to
come. The fall of 1957 was the
beginning.

Upon arrival I was assigned to the old living room in Cottage
C. Toting a well-used military duffle bag with a hole on the
side big enough to put both fists through, accompanied by
an old tortoise shell colored suitcase from about 1875, I was
set to go. One of five fellows at the other end of the room
walked over and said that I got the top bunk looking out
upon the street. It all started to come together when I laid
my cargo on the top bunk that I noticed about a four inch
high army mattress, which I identified mentally as an equal
to a Hilton Hotel. Even though I had never been in a Hilton I
was convinced the mattresses would be just like the ones at
Stevens.
I was nervous standing there in my best work clothes with
the sole of my right work shoe wrapped with wire up around
the top of the shoe to keep it from flapping down. Coming
to Stevens wasn't an accident; it was a gift from heaven in
comparison to the environment from which I came. I realized
I was looking at the first bed I ever had to sleep in. At home
I slept on a 12 inch wide pine board that my father put under
the old kitchen table spanning from the seat of one chair
under the table over to the seat of the other chair.
It was often said that Stevens was a school for the poor
and the downtrodden. If that was truly the case, I certainly
exceeded the qualifying criteria to be classified as poor.
I never felt it was a statement of personal condemnation. I
always used it as a form of motivation to incentivize me to
achieve a greater lifestyle then I ever experienced before,
and it worked. Thank God and a lot of concerning faculty that
6  The Tower

continually raised the defining benchmark of performance
throughout my three years at Stevens and I loved every
minute of it. There is nothing better than to work hard all day
and before the sun sets to turn back and to look at your work
as a standing trophy to your skills and efforts of the day.
It's quite an award to know that your workmanship will be
enjoyed and treasured a hundred years from now and more.
Choosing the field of masonry as my major was extremely
challenging for a young man but the absolute correct
field for me. During those training days of bricklaying and
blueprint reading over a three-year period I was prepared to
enter the construction workforce as a bricklayer. It wasn't
long before I was working on all types of jobs inclusive of
industrial, commercial, high rises, shopping centers and
refractory work in the steel mills. It's hard work but well
compensated. After 30 years in the construction field I
retired and came back to Stevens as Executive Director of
the Thaddeus Stevens Foundation. From the time I was
a student to this very date of October 1, 2020 I've either
seen or been a part of so many positive changes at Stevens
it almost demands daily recording to keep up with it. I'll
randomly share a few capital projects that are completed or
currently in progress
The LRC is the Learning Resource Center that houses the
library and many other support programs.
The MAC is the Multi-Purpose Activity Center that houses
the gym, certain sports and public events. It's an absolutely
beautiful building.
The remodeling of the Kreider Building, which has created
many classrooms and labs.
Remodeling of the Student Center including a small but well
used sandwich and soda bar etc.
Increased student housing has taken place at the branch
campus better known as Stevens on Orange along with
many new lab areas etc.
The Greiner Campus houses Computer Integrated Machine
Technology, Metals Fabrication & Welding Technology and
HVAC-R Technology. It is really a state-of-the-art facility. You
must see it to believe it. It's about two and half blocks from
our main campus on Chesapeake Street.
The Tower Fall 2020

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