Well, it was not an actual farewell, per se. This was a gathering of all UConn buddies after one of the courses, Data Analytics using R, came to an end and we (our professor and students alike) wanted to bid goodbye before heading into Summer 2017.
So, it was the last class of the course Data Analytics using R and our then professor Ram Gopal generously invited everyone to join him at CitySteam Brewery, which was like a few minutes walk from our classrooms.
This was something new for me and totally unheard of. Back in India, we didn’t even want to be seen eating breakfast or snacks outside the college campus, especially to our college professors, let alone have drinks with them. This was one of the biggest cultural shocks I got when I moved to the US from India. When the professor asked the students to join him at the brewery, I couldn’t believe at first, but ultimately realized that he was not joking and really wanted to hang out with us.
So, there we were, almost 100 of us, hanging out with our professor, having drinks, talking stuff and doing one thing or another or both at the same time. I got to meet so many UConn buddies during this get together like the Diwali Celebration last year.
One thing that I couldn’t do during my time at UConn is to spend more time with other friends at UConn. I had been busy playing cricket and hanging out with cricket buddies almost every evening. Whenever I got a chance I used to hang out with my roommates. But during winter when there was no cricket, I used to spend most of my time either at Nidhi’s place or doing something at my apartment. This didn’t leave me enough time to make more friends at UConn. No regrets, though!
Anyway, getting back to the party. The moment I entered the brewery, I saw everyone gathered around the professor talking about stuff that I didn’t know. I, being the liquor connoisseur back then, headed straight to the bar and ordered something for me. With a drink in my hand, I felt more comfortable among some familiar faces. I remember talking about stuff and future plans with the fellow UConn buddies.
During this time, apart from being a regular UConn student, I was a part-time employee at the South Dining Hall at UConn’s Storrs campus, and a Vice President of the Graduate Finance Club, and a co-Editor of UConn MSBAPM department magazine. As this get together slash party was a happening event in the UConn MSBAPM community, I wanted to capture some pictures and asked many of my fellow huskies to pose for one.
At the end, I wanted to click a picture of the group, so I politely requested the professor to pose for the picture and requested everyone else to stand alongside.
If I had to put my UConn experience in one single picture, I would certainly go back to that one and happily crown it as the only picture which captures most of us in one frame celebrating something. It turned out to be great and every once in a while whenever I miss Hartford or UConn, I look at that picture and reminisce some old memories.
It was a fun and memorable evening!
Next stop – a few more dinner dates with friends.
stochasticity 
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