Creighton University Gets A Mainer

As soon as my daughter announced her intention to attend Creighton University in Nebraska, her friends and acquaintances –and our friends and co-workers exclaimed, “Omaha?! Are you KIDDING me?”

Nope.

I must admit that Peggy and I both had initial misgivings about the location-and especially the distance—a scant 1,500 miles from Portland, Maine! For me, those fears were largely put to rest in April as I took Christina out to see the campus. Although accepted to a half dozen other schools (mostly on the East coast), she was convinced that Creighton was the place for her. High school placement profiles listed it as her “best fit” several times.

I had to look it up.

National rankings at or near the top in many categories, plus the moniker “The Villanova Of The Midwest” make me think that perhaps Christina was right. Those Jesuits know how to run a school, as I knew from experience in high school at Gonzaga in D.C. After seeing the campus, perhaps Villanova should be called the “ Creighton of the East”.

Christina is a freshman living in Kiewit Hall. An army of upperclassmen were waiting to help us —in fact, they are known nationally for making the dorm move-in an easy thing-below is a video of the 2007 move-in to our daughter’s very building:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4PKJPUIjnU

Upon landing in Omaha, I must concede that I was very pleasantly surprised-by everything. The city is exceedingly clean—and WAY more cosmopolitan than we snobby east-coasters could admit before being shown. In the same way that I had to convince my family in Washington, D.C. that Maine (particularly Portland) was a vibrant and beautiful place when I moved here 27 years ago, my daughter was essentially putting the same sales pitch together for her parents.

When one thinks of Omaha, my guess is that the top 5 responses are:

1) Corn
2) Omaha Steaks
3) Corn
4) Warren Buffett
5) Corn

All of the above are true, but the people in Nebraska are terrific, unbelievably (and noticeably) friendlier than average-and the terrain is not so flat as you would think. In fact, it is hilly enough to take the wind out of an out-of-shape DJ who visited the Omaha Zoo.

I knew that this blog would write itself, but also that I would procrastinate on the TOUGH PART…….LEAVING HER THERE.

Having gone through this before with her older brother, Peggy and I were no strangers to the last embrace, the laundry list of stuff to do (and NOT do!!!) and all those other parental spewings that cause eyes to roll and then glaze over.

Since we’ve know for some time that Christina is no shrinking violet, we were not at all concerned about her meeting new people or being homesick. This is an asset when dropping your daughter off in NEBRASKA. However, we couldn’t help seeing the little girl in diapers who took her first step, rode her bike for the first time or happily shredded wrapping paper in front of over a dozen Christmas trees.

So, basically, what I am saying is this: I was a mess.
Peggy was emotional too.

Christina?

Not so much, but that’s a good thing (“Mom, Dad, you can go now…I’m OK..really”)
We love you honey—and are SO PROUD of you and HAPPY for you too! Your new life adventure starts in Omaha, Nebraska at a terrific school called Creighton University.

If you’d like my blog in your inbox daily, just let me know: tim.moore@citcomm.com

I’ll trade you for a Kleenex.