By JEFF GRAPPONE
Staff Writer
 

In 1985, when many first-year students were getting ready for kindergarten, Cruz was working as a cook in a Seattle, Wa. restaurant, reading and writing in his spare time.

And while his present peers were in the early parts of middle school, many just starting to mature socially and bearing skin imperfections, Cruz was engaged in his second year of working in a money management firm as a portfolio manager.

He has now joined the ranks of the class of 2002 at Bates. Having attended the first-year student orientation, Cruz can now be seen all over campus: working in Ladd Library, eating in Commons, and scurrying to classes.

"I'm more of an enigma than anything else," said Cruz, who mentioned that, on average, a couple of students a day inquire about his matriculation here.

But why would a 36 year-old man who has worked in the corporate caverns of Chicago and New York City, for such prestigious firms as Merill Lynch, Salomon Brothers and Dean Whitter, leave for the academic and reflective confines of Bates College?

"I discovered I didn't have a soul," said Cruz who explained that somewhere along the line his spirit wandered away from him. For that reason, he sold the money management company he had founded. "I decided I needed to change my life."

Cruz is now working toward a different professional goal: to become a social activist in the legal arena. He talks long and passionately about his opposition to various international trade agreements in which the United States is involved, including GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade). After getting his Bates degree, Cruz hopes to enroll at Harvard Law School.

Although born and reared in Chicago, this stockbroker-turned-student now considers Olympia, Washington home. The factors that led him to choose Bates over other schools are the same that draw many students to the college.

"I wanted to go to a smaller school with a good reputation in a rural to small city setting," he said, adding that the faculty-to-student ratio was also attractive. Only three other colleges were officially on his list.

Cruz went through all the same motions to gain admission to Bates as his classmates did, even interviewing during the infamous ice storm. Although he did write essays, he skipped the SATs, relying on the scores he earned in high school.

Clad in blue jeans and Nike sneakers, Cruz is slowly starting to resurrect his academic career after eighteen years of being out of school. "I'm still adjusting," he said, nervously laughing about the fact that he has not had a paper due yet. This semester, he is taking four courses: Introduction to Poetry, a first- year seminar (North Woods), French Enlightenment and, surprisingly, microeconomics. Unafraid of reading and writing, Cruz considers a double major in philosophy and English to be a definite possibility. "The teachers have been very supportive," he said.

Besides his age, perhaps the biggest difference between Cruz and fellow first-years is the fact that he does not share his Frye House accommodations with a roommate. "I was under the impression I couldn't pick [a roommate]," he said, mentioning that he filled out a housing preference form.

Cruz has found dorm life to be perfectly agreeable thus far, although he did not expect it to be as quiet as it is. And he says he has "never been the homesick type of guy" and isn't now.

Virginia E. Harrison, associate dean of admissions, said that non-traditional students (those outside the 18-22 age range) are not uncommon at Bates. What distinguishes Cruz as unique is that he boards here, while other students like him might be from the greater Lewiston area.

"We've done it for a long time, so this is not anything new," said Harrison. She explained that Cruz is by no means the oldest student in the college's history, saying that people with full grown children have attended Bates. According to Harrison, there are non-traditional students in all classes.

Aside from academics, Cruz's top extracurricular goal is to establish what could be called the "Bates Political Information Center." Such an organization would serve as a way for college community members to learn more about radical political, social, and economic arenas. For fun, he may partake in Ultimate Frisbee and the Outing Club.

While some may wonder if this arrangement might be a little unusual, Cruz intends on being at Bates through his college career. "I'm here for four years," he said.

Harrison said that the percentage of non-traditional students who are awarded a degree is very high.

"They've thought this all out, so they're kind of on a mission," said Carmita L. McCoy, director of multicultural recruitment, explaining that students like Cruz tend to be highly motivated with specific goals. She believes the backgrounds of non-traditional students add diversity to the composition of the student body.

Cruz, like many students, will also work a little on the side during his time here. When he isn't doing homework, he will continue to serve as a financial advisor with Capital International Securities Group.

He is the father of a 12 year-old daughter, who Cruz describes as being, "probably the single most beautiful thing I know of."