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Show 8 THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE 23. 2001 FRIDAY, MARCH The "Perennial Sophomore'' COLLEGE continued from page were 4 500 students in '941, and campus only consisted of what is now Presidents Circle. Students took trolley C2rs to school, and men outnumbered women two to one. The Park Building was the center of campus life. "Students met in front of 'the Pump' a fountain that was in front of the building," recalls Christensen. "There was a bank of lockers in the Park Building for students. No one carried book bags." And the greeks held Rush in the Park Building, too. Christensen, who was president of Sigma Chi, has fond memories of being a greek. "Fun times in fraternities..." he reminisces. "Good parties, playing playing pool..." Although there was no liquor allowed at parties, he insists, "some people snuck it in," The college hangout then was the "CI." or College Inn, Christensen cafe remembers. The diner-styl- e Going to college at 16 does not seem strange to Edward "Ned" because that is the age when he started at the U back in 1941. Christensen earned a bachelor's and master's degree in chemistry during the '40s. Now, at the age of 76 and as the oldest matriculated student on campus, he is close to finishing another set of bachelor's and master's degrees, this time in anthropology. Christensen doesn't blend in as easily as Obzansky, and he turns a few heads sometimes. "Fellow students are a little surprised," Christensen says. And so are the professors, he continued. "They are a little intimidated because I'm older than they are, but I get along with them," he said. Although the students do not seem much different to him, many other aspects of campus have changed since his first stint at the U. There 7 Chris-tense- n, talked to them and agreed with them a lot. We went to a spaghetti house, and they asked me to start a chapter tat the V." Obzansky recails. Another favorite topic for Obzansky is her brother, Chris, who is a junior member of the national team. "He got first place in China! Gosh darn, he's good...and what a great guy he is," she says. "He's cool. He always sends us this stuff from other countries. Being the youngest student on campus has not given Obzansky any unwanted attention. Her classmates do not know much about Obzansky or that she is only 16. "They just think we Helen and her sister, Hannah look young. I don't think they care or notice." ice-danci- ping-pon- g, stood where Kinko's is now. The big date destinations were the dance halls, such as the Rainbow Rende-vouCoconut Grove and Saltair, z, where the big bands ruled. Christensen volunteered for the Navy during World War II and left the U in '43. After serving as an officer for three years, he returned to the U and resumed his studies in chemistry. The campus began to change at that point, he says. Penned-u- p demand after the war and veterans on G.I. bills increased the campus population to 15,000 and the campus expanded to include the annex buildings left by the military. Despite more students, the fraternity parties did not get bigger and wilder. "The guys were much more mature and serious about school after serving in the war." After graduating from the U with his master's degree in 1949, Christensen and his wife moved to Beacon, N.Y., to work for Texaco. Christensen holds 23 U.S. patents from the research he did there. He earned another master's degree this one in industrial administration from Union College and moved up through the ranks to upper management. Hard times in the industry ended his career at Texaco in 1985. Not ready to retire yet, Christensen responded to an ad for a bank teller. The bank told him he was "way and hired him as a officer to solicit business accounts. Always looking for an opportunity to learn, Christensen started studying to be a certified financial planner as part of the retraining program from the Texaco layoff. He became a stockbroker in 1987. "I had a whole bunch of money I needed to invest," he says, "so I thought 'Why not?'" Working as a stockbroker for Alex, Brown and Son was "fun but pres 35-ye- ar over-qualifie- d" business-d- evelopment THE FUMMIEST GOME Or OF THF m m mm Sigoumey Weaver Jennifer Love Hewitt yfabp a ssmmMMa Gene Hackman and At age 76, Edwsrd Christensen is sured," he says, "If a stock tanked, you're going to hear about it." Christensen officially retired in 1991 and moved back to Salt Lake City to help look after his wife's parents. Feeling restless, he took a tax course and started preparing taxes at H&R Block. It didn't last h tax season con"The flicted with the ski season," says Christensen, who quit the tax business after the first year. A few years later, Christensen participated in an archaeological dig in Montana and met Beth Steele of the Utah Museum of Natural History. She invited Christensen to work as a decent at the museum. He started teaching at the Junior Science Academy in the museum. This gave him yet another excuse to study. "If I were to teach anthropology, I'd better know what I was talking about " he says. So, 60 years after he first enrolled and several degrees and certificates later, Christensen became a U undergraduate once again in 1997. "I guess I'm just a perennial sophomore," he three-mont- fourth-grade- says. "It's harder now," admitted Christensen, who finished his bachelor's of science in anthropology in 1999 and plans to finish his master's of science in the fall. "Memories start to fade. It's harder to concentrate," he said-H- e makes up for the handicap, though. "I have a lot of experience, lived all around the world, have been a reader all my life, and accumulated a whole lot of facts somewhere in my head," says Christensen, who takes nine hours of course work each semester and spends as many hours doing research. His zeal for learning has not diminished through the years, and he is doing exactly what he loves. ""'If it weren't fun, I wouldn't be doing it," he said. the oldest matriculated student on campus. ' on rnilMVII islLI flUCULU sf i il mm rirti DIPTIIDCC Lit i UiiLJ nmm 1 MMC mnmiHMHT MIC nanniimra FOmViM infiiisu uisu rnuuui.ifun riMAU Runsiu Limt'iniiiiiiiiii uumi nis Alllllfiiy B1EI11 JifMEllfl llffiir HiSEJEffflJlESilIISiSISii it! EElfflilfffia ERSAI PG13 m MM HADEEL BEBA WU1IH DBIBlflinElnl LUKlAll 1 SIEiliiSiBESMiSIEHIl JIHiIsysSIIlIi PAKUITS STRONGLY CAUTIONED Soma Materia! 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