Listen to a conversation between a student and a professor.
Excuse me, can I help you?
You look a little lost. Yeah, I am. This is my first day on campus, and I don't know where anything is.
Can't find your orientation session?
Uh-huh. What a way to begin! Lost going to orientation.
Well, my guess is in the auditorium, that's where they usually are.
You're right, the general ones. I went to one of those sessions earlier today. But now I need the one for my major, engineering. My schedule says the meeting room is in... Johnson Hall? In the engineering department, which should be right here in front of us, according to the map. But this building is called the Morgan Hall.
Well, your map reading skills are fine actually. This used to be Johnson Hall, all right. Trouble is they changed the name to Morgan Hall last spring. So they sent you a map with an old name? I am surprised.
Well, this was actually mailed out month and month ago. I got a second pack in the mail more recently with another one of these maps in it. I guess they must have the updated name. I left that one in my dorm room.
Well, things change fast around here. This building was renamed after one of our professors. She retired a few months ago. She is very well-known in the world of physics.Too bad for Johnson, I guess.
Who is Johnson anyway?Oh, one of the early professors here. Unfortunately, I guess his ideas are going out of style. Science kept marching forward.
I'll say it does. That's why I transferred to this university. I was really impressed with all the research equipment you guys have at the laboratories. You are really on the forefront.
Um... so do you know what kind of engineering you want to specialize in?
Yeah, aerospace engineering.Well, the aerospace engineering department here is excellent! Eh... do you know that this university was the first one in the country to offer a program in aerospace engineering?
Yeah, I know. And a couple of students who graduated from here became astronauts and orbited the Earth.
Right. The department has many prominent alumni. Well, you might end up taking some of your advanced math course with me. I get a lot of students from the engineering department because I teach the required applied mathematics courses.
Oh, cool. Actually, I want to get a minor in math.
Excellent. Hmm... A major in aerospace engineering with a minor in math, you'll go far with that degree. More of our students should do that. There are so many more opportunities available in the field when you have a strong math background.
I'm glad to hear you say that.