Ever wonder where some of the most successful executives, recording artists, authors, athletes, scientists, and so on received their education? It may be hard to believe, but even the most notable figures of today were once hopeful college-grads-to-be, lugging around heavy backpacks, cramming for tests, and juggling their class schedule with important social activities. Sound familiar? Test your knowledge of these noted individuals by checking out the colleges they attended. Did you guess their alma maters correctly? And, if you’re not familiar with some of the names, you’ll find some interesting facts about them. You may find some of them to even be worth an Internet search. After reading their stories, you may just get inspired!
JOSEPH MCDADE
Researcher who identified Legionnaires’ Disease
McDaniel College
McDade and his team isolated the bacterium that cause Legionnaires’ Disease, prompting federal agencies all over the world to begin requiring more stringent cleaning and hygiene for cooling towers and large scale air conditioning systems.
LAURA BUSH
First lady
Southern Methodist University
Long before her husband took her to the White House, the first lady was a librarian. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Southern Methodist University in 1968. She then taught in public schools in Dallas and Houston. In 1973, she earned a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Texas at Austin and worked as a public school librarian in Austin. In 1977, she met and married George W. Bush.
ROBERT CURL
Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
Rice UniversityCurl, along with two other chemists, discovered a new form of carbon. Because the shape of the carbon clusters resembles the dome houses designed by R. Buckminster Fuller, the three scientists named the discovery buckminsterfullerene. Nicknamed “fullerenes” or “buckeyballs,” the clusters have become the focus of a new field of organic chemistry that is working to produce new materials, medicines, computers and drug delivery systems.
DAWN UPSHAW
Three-time Grammy Award-winning singer
Illinois Wesleyan University
Applauded in the opera houses of New York, Paris, Salzburg, and Vienna for her portrayals of the great Mozart roles, Upshaw is equallyrenowned for work in more remote corners of the repertory, such as the title character in Händel’s Theodora, Cherubino in the Metropolitan Opera’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and as the heroine in a production of Pelléas et Mélisande.
JOEL AND ETHAN COEN
Filmmakers
Simon’s Rock College of Bard
Considered two of the greatest modern American filmmakers, the Coen brothers have become synonymous with classic American movie genres – especially film noir.Their most popular works have included “Raising Arizona,” “Fargo,” “O Brother,Where Art Thou?” and “The Lady Killers.”
STEVE BALLMER
CEO, Microsoft
Lawrence Technological University
Ballmer participated in Lawrence Tech’s Summer Science Institute, then spent a year at the University, acing six of Lawrence Tech’s top mathematics classes while still co-enrolled in high school.
VINCE LOMBARDI
Legendary NFL Coach
Fordham University
In 1959, Lombardi took the then lowly Green Bay Packers and built them into a dynasty, winning five NFL Championships in his nine seasons of coaching at Green Bay, including three championships in a row and the first two Super Bowls. The trophy awarded to the winner of the Super Bowl is named after him.
JOHN WOODEN
Legendary college basketball coach
Purdue University
Wooden’s UCLA Bruins won an incredible seven straight NCAA men’s national basketball championships between 1966 and 1973, and 10 championships in 12 years between 1963 and 1975, a feat that no other college basketball team has come close to replicating.
HOWELL HEFLIN
U.S. Senator from Alabama, 1979-1997
Birmingham-Southern College
Heflin was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1978; reelected in 1984 and again in 1990. He was chief justice in the Alabama Supreme Court from 1971 to 1977 and served as the chairman of the Select Committee on Ethics for the 96th and 100th through 102nd Congresses.
TERESA WEATHERSPOON
WNBA pioneer and superstar
Louisiana Tech University
One of the original players in the WNBA, she joined the New York Liberty in 1997. Until 2003, she held the distinction of being the only WNBA player to start every one of her games. In 2004 she signed with the Los Angeles Sparks.
ISAAC TIGRETT
Co-founder of Hard Rock Café, founder of House of Blues
Centre College
Considered a hippie-entrepreneur by many,Tigrett co-founded the Hard Rock Café in 1971, a restaurant often credited as being the first theme restaurant. In 1992, he founded the House of Blues, a chain of music clubs, with Dan Aykroyd.
LESLIE S. CULBERTSON
Vice President and Director, Corporate
Finance for Intel Corporation
Lewis & Clark College
After joining Intel in 1979 as the Oregon site accounting manager, Culbertson rose up the ranks to her current position, where she is responsible for corporate finance, tax, licensing and customs, all operational finance and accounting and control functions.
ANNA DEAVERE SMITH
Actress/author/playwright
Arcadia University (formerly Beaver College)
While Smith has numerous works to her credit, she may be best known by many for her guest appearance as National Security Advisor Nancy McNally on NBC’s “The West Wing.”
