Decked out in dress shirt and pants, Carnegie Mellon senior David Farkas approaches the well-suited gentleman at the small side table in the University Center’s Schatz Dining Room. Introductions are made as Farkas sits to join the older man and his friends for dinner. Farkas pauses as he hears “Al Checco,” thinking, “the name’s kind of familiar.” Then, recognition hits: the “Checco Studio” in the Purnell Center. This evening keeps getting more interesting!
Farkas, an industrial design major, is attending the Platinum Reunion dinner held during Homecoming Weekend. He is one of 12 students serving as Carnegie Mellon Highland Ambassadors. In the fledgling volunteer program, the ambassadors attend a variety of alumni events, getting to interact with some well-known graduates while giving guests a first-hand look at campus life.
Farkas has been volunteering on campus for years and has been assigned a number of responsibilities throughout Homecoming Weekend. He has spent Saturday doing a multitude of things, including zipping distinguished alumni around campus in a golf cart. He’s met a number of engaging people, but this evening truly tops off the day.
The Platinum Reunion is being held for the classes of 1952 and earlier, and the dinner is surprisingly well attended by both men and “Maggie Murph” women. After mingling through the cocktail hour, Farkas finds himself seated with Al Checco (A’47) and Bill Thurnhurst (A’43,’47). He marvels that Checco has traveled from California to see his old friend, even after 60 years. He listens as the buddies banter about Carnegie Tech after the war, trips made to football games in Checco’s old run-down car, and times spent in the Drama Department.
Farkas can’t help but compare his own college experiences with those of the alumni around him. Their stories of fun feel familiar, as do their jibes at the school. The two men start to laugh over the fact that they still have their “dinks”—beanies that freshmen had to wear. (Thank goodness some things have changed!)
The men finish dinner and prepare to return to their hotels. With early-morning departures scheduled, they say their goodbyes. The farewell is casual because it’s clear they’ll be in touch. Farkas can’t help but glance at his friend Nisha Phatak, a sophomore statistics major, who is also an ambassador. Maybe, he wonders, they’ll be laughing in Schatz in 2068.
—Melissa Silmore (TPR’85)
