At the Buffalo Marriott

by Joel Stall

Although I did not have the pleasure of having Dr. Milton Plesur as a professor, it was due to his commitment to learning that I was able to receive SUNY at Buffalo's quality education.

After one and a half years in an engineering program that I could not endure, I dropped out of college without formal notice. This obviously was not conducive to a high GPA. In fact, my GPA was somewhere below a 1.5.

After a few years of "finding myself," I was introduced to Dr. Plesur while serving him dinner at the Buffalo Marriott, where I was a waiter. He was a regular at the Marriott, and after a while he would request me to be his waiter.

We learned a little about each other after a few conversations. During one of those conversations, he asked me if I was receiving a college education. I told him of my desire to enter UB's management school, and I also had to tell him that my application would most likely be rejected due to my past performance.

After dinner that night, he asked me to visit his office so we could discuss my possible application to UB. We met, and he put me in contact with the proper individuals who would "discount" my prior GPA and allow me to start over again without applying as a freshman.

It was due to his thoughtfulness and networking that I was able to enter UB's management school and graduate with more than a 3.1 GPA. My only sadness is that I was never able to drop by his office one more time to share my diploma with him.