Top 10 Moments at NCU (Part 1)

Arriving on the campus of North Central University in the fall of 2006 seems like just yesterday. I was quickly greeted and befriended by Steve Svoboda and Ben Cline, thus, quickly came the memories. In my 3.5 years there I lived with 3 different guys in 3 different rooms all providing different experiences I will never forget. While at NCU I met my fiance, future brother-in-law, and five of the best friends in the world. I learned what it means to live in the "Nation's Ice Box" and learned there is a difference between 5 degrees and -40 degrees. After graduating from NCU on December 11, I thought it would be appropriate to share with you all my top 10 moments at NCU.

1. Before I even stepped foot on campus I received a call from the housing director informing me of my soon-to-be roommate. He told me his name was Aguirre Reese. He pronounced it like "Ag-u-are." So for a few weeks I thought I was going to have a Hispanic roommate. So you can imagine the look on my face when I saw my 6'4" African-American roommate when I moved into my dorm room. His name was pronounced like "Uh-gwire."

2. It didn't take long for my fellow students to realize I had a unique sense of humor. During my first semester of my first year at NCU we had an unforgettable moment at Applebees. Without any warning I asked the entire table if they knew how to sell a duck to man hard of hearing. Nobody knew the answer so I told them. At the very tip top of my lungs and with everything I had in me, I yelled as loud as I could, "YOU WANNA BUY A DUCK!" Half of the 20 people left.

3. Not even honey is sweeter than the taste of victory. My floor, 2 East Phillipps, tasted victory when we beat 4 West Carlson in an intramural basketball instant classic. Even though we had the league MVP, Jaren Grenell, we found ourselves down by 17 in the second half. What happened in the last 15 of that game I really cannot remember. However, I do remember mounting a comeback and beating them in the final seconds. For an overly competitive person, I will never forget that feeling of victory on that frigid February night in 2008.

4. Many people have left there mark at NCU over the years. They have come and gone and people remember them for a long time. But no one will ever be remembered as much as Mike Mertz. Not even Raymond G. Carlson or John E. Phillipps will go down in history like Mertz. Because of Mertz, the phrase "Mertz is in town!" is understood by all who attend NCU. A tradition unlike any other was started in November of 2007. My friend from Iowa came to visit me every November. And the first time he came was legen...wait for it...dary! He stayed with us for 4 days and we went crazy. We skipped classes, we drank Red Bull and Mt. Dew like they were water, and we did not sleep. Everything began to seem unimportant or irrelevant because "Mertz was in town!" Mertz influenced an entire generation of Bible College students forever. That inaugural "Mertz Weekend" will go down as one of the greatest weekends of my life.

5. My college experience really took a turn for the better in the fall of 2007. When Dustin Poole, aka Grandpa, stepped foot on campus my life was turned upside down. It was love at first sight. We both love the Buckeyes more than anything and that runs deeper than blood. In October of 2007 Dustin and I made a memory that will last for a lifetime. I had 2 tickets for the Ohio State at Purdue game. So on Saturday at 7:30 we left for an 8 hour road trip to West Lafayette. We arrived to town just in time to get some dinner and get to the stadium for a 7:00 kick off. Immediately following the game (Buckeyes won) we got in the Camry and drove. The drive home seemed to last forever. We finished off our 12 pack of Red Bull and pulled into Minneapolis at 8:30 Sunday morning. Our trip to Purdue lasted 25 hours with no sleep. To this day, we refer to that as the worst best decision we ever made together.