This afternoon, I was recognized for 25 years of service to the The University of Tampa (UT). It would probably be more appropriate for me to recognize UT for giving me a home for close to half my life. It’s been a heck of a ride these past two and a half decades. Thousands of students, friends and colleagues, who have made me who I am today. They collectively took us in, and treated us as family.
I remember coming to UT in the Fall of 1990. Fresh out of grad school, no money, young wife, no focus, and absolutely no idea where life would take me. Over the years, it was the good people in the College of Business at UT who invited Rohini and me into their homes, held the baby showers before our children were born, lent me a shoulder of support when I lost loved ones and allowed me to be a part of them.
Today, I am a little grey, a tad wiser, and certainly more committed and fiercely protective of our UT culture. I now feel like the senior statesman for the College of Business and the University. I feel obligated to nurture help and mentor the new scholars, who want to make UT home.
Ultimately, it has been the people at UT who have touched my life — my students and a handful of close friends. Some of my friends have left UT, some have departed for the heavens, and some make coming to work every day special. You know who you are, and the impact you have had on my life. You all will always have a very special place in my heart. This journey would never have been the same without you.
About Hemant Rustogi