VT Stories Oral History with Jeffrey Bowling, October 23, 2015 (Ms2016-015)
Title
VT Stories Oral History with Jeffrey Bowling, October 23, 2015 (Ms2016-015)
Subject
Description
When Jeffrey Bowling graduated from high school in 1976, he did not appreciate that his friends and family all assumed he would go to Virginia Tech just because he was from a family of Hokies. Both his older brother and sister attended Virginia Tech, and his mother went to Radford when it was the women’s division of the University during World War II.
Determined to break the pattern, Bowling spent a summer studying at the University of Tennessee. It only took one summer for him to realize the school was not the right fit for him. He applied to Tech last minute that Fall and was placed in a three-person room in Pritchard. Once another room opened up, he moved to Vawter, which he liked more than Pritchard.
Between his sophomore and junior years, Bowling gave tours during a summer session at Virginia Tech — something he says was a “predecessor” to Hokie Camp, which is held every year to introduce freshmen to the Virginia Tech campus. It was through giving these tours that Bowling stumbled into the opportunity to become an RA, an experience that, he says, benefitted him greatly during his four years at the University.
Bowling’s main concern during his time in undergrad, other than his tendency to procrastinate on assignments, arose during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. As an RA, he would have been responsible for protecting students from any potential unrest.
Thankfully, nothing came of the student’s plans to protest, and Bowling was saved the trouble of mediating the anticipated riot.
Bowling graduated from Tech with a B.S. in Finance in June of 1980. He then earned his MBA from Virginia Tech, only a semester later, in December 1981. Throughout the years, he has gone on to work for many different companies, mostly around Baltimore, Maryland.
The former RA has fond memories of his time at Virginia Tech, and even though it has been over thirty years since he crossed the stage to accept his degree, the alum occasionally has bizarre dreams that throw him back to his time as a student.
Determined to break the pattern, Bowling spent a summer studying at the University of Tennessee. It only took one summer for him to realize the school was not the right fit for him. He applied to Tech last minute that Fall and was placed in a three-person room in Pritchard. Once another room opened up, he moved to Vawter, which he liked more than Pritchard.
Between his sophomore and junior years, Bowling gave tours during a summer session at Virginia Tech — something he says was a “predecessor” to Hokie Camp, which is held every year to introduce freshmen to the Virginia Tech campus. It was through giving these tours that Bowling stumbled into the opportunity to become an RA, an experience that, he says, benefitted him greatly during his four years at the University.
Bowling’s main concern during his time in undergrad, other than his tendency to procrastinate on assignments, arose during the Iran hostage crisis in 1979. As an RA, he would have been responsible for protecting students from any potential unrest.
Thankfully, nothing came of the student’s plans to protest, and Bowling was saved the trouble of mediating the anticipated riot.
Bowling graduated from Tech with a B.S. in Finance in June of 1980. He then earned his MBA from Virginia Tech, only a semester later, in December 1981. Throughout the years, he has gone on to work for many different companies, mostly around Baltimore, Maryland.
The former RA has fond memories of his time at Virginia Tech, and even though it has been over thirty years since he crossed the stage to accept his degree, the alum occasionally has bizarre dreams that throw him back to his time as a student.
Date
Rights
Permission to publish material from the VT Stories Oral History Collection must be obtained from Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech.
Type
Identifier
Ms2016-015_JeffreyBowling
Rights Holder
Special Collections and University Archives, University Libraries, Virginia Tech
Interviewer
Carmen Bolt
Narrator
Jeffrey Bowling
Location
Holtzman Alumni Center, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va
Duration
01:05:15
Citation
“VT Stories Oral History with Jeffrey Bowling, October 23, 2015 (Ms2016-015),” VT Special Collections and University Archives Online, accessed April 27, 2024, http://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/Ms2016-015/Ms2016-015_JeffreyBowling.