John Pusztay:  

College After my stint in the Navy, I settled down in Newport and was fortunate to go to Salve Regina. I had a double major in Economics and Politics. While in school (with a credit load of 21 credits/semester), I also worked 60 hours/week with 4 to 6 jobs at one time. At the end of my first year, I had a B- average. I worked the following summer to finish paying for the first year and managed to get in a second year. The first semester wasn't that bad, but the second semester proved to be fatal bringing my average to barely a 2.0 which wasn't enough for me to renew any hopes of getting more financial aid. I tried to bolster that by taking an extra class from CCRI at Newport Hospital, but I barely got a C in that class (can't even remember what the one class was I took...ha ha). But the C wasn't enough to bring my overall GPA up to get financial aid for Salve. I needed a B+ or better. Needless to say, I was burning out big time which was my downfall. During my two years at Salve, I also moved around a bit which added to my burnout. I found myself moving after the first semester, then again the summer of '89 and again after that. Okay, so here's some of the many jobs I had between classes. Parking Lot Attendant at Bowen's Wharf, worked for a Nursing Agency (main job) going to nursing homes throughout Newport. I mainly worked at Harrison Convelescent Home on the graveyard shift. I would work there till just after 7 am and walk to school to catch Sister Ann Nelson's Political Philosophy class at 8 am. Some of you might recall the one time I lost it and yelled back at her while still dressed in my nursing whites because I was (heaven forbid) one minute late to her class. I also did Private Duty nursing and home health aid through the same agency. I also taught art, language, and cooking classes at Swinburne School of Arts on Pelham Street. I worked at a Gourmet Food Store for Professor Gavin's wife at...Expand for more