From Position 18 on the Waitlist to Getting into the Course

Two hours before the first meeting for my Block 5 art history course, I was still thinking about Paul Myrow’s Oceanography class. I had first heard about the class from a high school acquaintance who took it a few years prior, when he began his time at Colorado College. I excitedly put GY115: Oceanography on my schedule in banner but underestimated how many other people would do the same. When results for spring courses were released, I was disheartened to find myself on the waitlist—in position 18!

I remained on the waitlist for months, and a few days before the start of Block 5 I had moved up, but only to position 10. The night before the first day of class, I went to bed with the reluctant acceptance that I would have to wait until next year to learn about the oceans and the related geological, biological, and chemical processes.

When I woke up the next day, I spontaneously decided to check the course schedule on banner. What if someone had dropped the course last minute, and there was an open spot? I thought it was unlikely so I wasn’t super hopeful, but I was shocked to discover that there were two potential spots! I jumped to email the professor, Paul Myrow, to see if there really was space in the class. He responded quickly, and I realized several things at once: the class was completely in-person, it was starting at 9 am in Palmer, and there was no guarantee I would have a spot in the class; I had only a little time to dash across campus and show up for a class I was not yet enrolled in.

With only a few minutes before I was supposed to arrive, I skipped my morning coffee and ran to my bike which was parked by Loomis. I hadn’t planned on biking but it would be the fastest way for me to get to this in-person class. Unfortunately, my heeled boots, wide-legged pants, and large tote bag purse did not agree with the pedals, gears, and front wheel of the bike, but I made it to Palmer in one piece, only slightly late.

When I got there, I was faced with a puzzle: how to get in! Since this was my first in-person class ever at CC, I had no idea which door to use. After finding all of the front doors locked, I ran to the right side of the building only to find those doors locked as well. Still in questionable foot attire, I dashed to the other side of the building, where I noted an accessible entrance with a visible gold card scanner. In a lucky turn of events, I had gold card access, and suddenly I was in a strange hall that housed several offices and lots of framed images of rocks. I followed a loud voice into the main hall, where I stumbled upon a classroom with people in it.

I made it just in time for our review of the class expectations and syllabus, and in less than 24 hours I was officially enrolled in the course.