"I'm not the typical Notre Dame story. I transferred to a different university after two years. It was in 1969, at the height of anti-Vietnam sentiments, and I was in the ROTC program here. Just having a military haircut made me stand out from the rest of the students. I felt out-of-place often: there were many students from the east coast here, and they were aggressive and smart and in-your-face. And here I was, this mild-mannered Midwest kid, trying to find my place. To top it all off, the drinking culture was too much for me. All my friends would go out to drink after football games, and I would go back to the library to study. Finally, after my sophomore year, I worked up the courage to ask my parents if I could transfer. I didn't start my first semester at my new school very well, and that was when I realized: you take yourself wherever you go. But my new school welcomed me with open arms, and I stayed and graduated and loved it. I still have allegiance to Notre Dame now; I visit campus, I donate, I have tickets to sports events. I just share my allegiance now. It took me some time after transferring to come to terms with the old Notre Dame and the changes it's experienced since I went to school here."