Eric Durland:  

Rensselaer was not the most fun place to get a degree (in Math). I started out in the middle of the pack of math majors, but by the time I graduated, the bottom half had either dropped out or switched to an easier major. I understand RPI has since abandoned their "survival of the fittest" approach and now actually tries to help struggling students. In the fine tradition of our NHS fifty miler, I spent a week's spring break driving down and back with three other Rensselaer Outing Clubbers from Troy, NY past Mexico City to climb Pico de Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico and third highest in North America. Any claim to fame for me has all been down hill since then. Barely got into grad school (in Statistics) at Texas A&M. Quite a culture shock down there, but for the good. Was "adopted" by my roommate's family and spent weekends in the hill country above San Antonio. Got my masters, then put in my two years as an ROTC officer in the Army Corps of Engineers, my last year in Vietnam building roads and bridges. I was in five mortar attacks, but mostly it felt like I was in the Peace Corps! Liked the locals and look forward to going back for a visit. Went to grad school at Colorado State after the Army, and landed a job in Denver as a statistician in the Colorado Highway Safety Division. Then a long stint as a planner/program evaluator/policy-budget analyst in the Governor's Budget Office and finally as Admin Chief for the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. I'm now retired, married to a perky, outdoorsy gal I met on a canoe trip to the Minnesota-Ontario Boundary Waters I led with the Colorado Mt. Club. We continue to backpack, ski, ride horses and canoe - this summer we're hiking the Inca Trail in Peru to Machu Pichu. In addition to our regular jobs we started three different outdoor adventure companies along the way: Canoe Country Escapes - guided canoe trip...Expand for more