I remember Rob.
Back when he was a freshman, my sister needed
some study help for calculus, so I agreed to spend the night helping
her prepare for her final exam. She asked if a couple friends
could join her, and I agreed. Rob was one of those guys.
We spent the night studying the entirety of first semester calculus.
Afterwards, everyone there attributed an increase in their grades to
that all-nighter. At the end of spring semester, we repeated the study
session.
We weren't close, but when we'd see each other on the quad,
we'd say hello, and sometimes catch up.
The one thing I recall was
his thirst for knowledge, and his self-deprecation. He was learning
calculus better than he'd let on.
I was in China when I heard he was
one of the people killed on 9/11. It was a bit of a shock; I had
expected to know of some people who had been killed, as I grew up in
New Jersey and still have ties there. I wasn't surprised to hear
Rob had a successful career. Still, he was the first of three people
I had known who were killed.
James C. Armstrong, Jr.