‘I love a good road trip’
Alumna doesn’t let canceled flight stop her first visit to Oxford in three decades
‘I love a good road trip’
Part of a tight-knit group of friends who were students in the College Student Personnel Services program, Pszczolkowski planned to meet with two close friends, Sherri Spicer Payne and Dinean Runyan Thelen. The plan was for Pszczolkowski, who lives in New Jersey and works at Princeton University, to fly out of Philadelphia into Cincinnati to spend a few days in Oxford in early August.
A canceled flight put Pszczolkowski on a different road map — literally. Instead of a 2-hour flight — and in lieu of jettisoning the trip all together — Pszczolkowski instead went home to sleep for a few hours. She then loaded up her Honda CRV, turned on a podcast, and set off across Pennsylvania and into Ohio for the 9-hour drive to make certain she saw her friends.
Even though the trip was cut short because of the drive time, it was well worth it to be back in Oxford.
“I love a good road trip,” said Pszczolkowski, who works as the associate director of graduate career development and alumni relations for Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs. “It was my first time back in 30 years. A lot of strolling down memory lane.”
Pszczolkowski multitasked on the trip. She listened to several episodes of Gallup’s “Leading With Strengths” podcast, which helped her prep for an upcoming workshop.
That, too, was a throwback to her time at Miami. Pszczolkowski said the university was instrumental in positioning her for future success.
“It was a really big growth period for me,” she said. “The courses, the people, the practical experience we gained through internships and working in the career center — I really credit Miami for setting me up well for my career in higher education.”
One faculty member who played a pivotal role in Pszczolkowski’s development at Miami was Marcia Baxter Magolda, who taught in the Department of Educational Leadership for 30 years.
Pszczolkowski, Payne, and Thelen connected with Magolda for dinner at Gaslight Brewhouse during their time back in Oxford. The three friends, who held a similar reunion last year in Nashville, also marveled at the changes to Miami’s campus, including the new residence halls on Western campus, Goggin Ice Center, and more.
Still, not everything about Miami had changed. Pszczolkowski’s cohort of 25 spent a lot of time in McGuffey Hall, and she was a residence director in central quad’s Hamilton Hall.
“It felt familiar, but bigger,” Pszczolkowski said. “It’s just a beautiful campus. I can’t say enough good things about Miami.
“I think maybe for our 35th, I’ll plan further ahead and not wait another 30 years to come back to Oxford.”
