While I’m thinking about college, here’s one of my favorite stories about college.

One morning, back in the 1880s, an older couple who dressed like they had just come off the farm showed up in the Dean’s office at Harvard University.

The Dean’s secretary asked if they had an appointment, and they said they did not. The secretary tried to make the couple understand that the Dean was very busy, but the couple stated that they were willing to wait. The secretary figured they’d eventually get tired of waiting, and leave of their own accord.

When the Dean arrived at his office, the secretary explained the situation, and the Dean agreed that was probably the best thing.

The Dean attended to his business, his appointments, and much of his work, but that stubborn older couple remained patiently in the waiting room well into the afternoon.

As it got late, the secretary began to feel bad about their long wait, and went into the Harvard Dean’s office and asked if there was any way he could spare some time for this poor couple. The Dean finally agreed.

The secretary escorted them in, and they explained why they were there.

The mentioned that they had a son who had just recently died, and that the son had been working very hard at school, with a good academic record, and wanted to attend Harvard. The couple mentioned that they decided that they would like to put the money towards a memorial of him at Harvard.

The Dean tried to explain that they couldn’t build a memorial to every student who had gone through Harvard, or the place would look like a graveyard! And it was especially out of the question for someone who hadn’t even made it to Harvard yet.

The couple clarified that they didn’t mean a memorial in the form of a statue or marker, but rather they’d like to use the money to create a building in their son’s name at Harvard.

The Dean explained that the logistics of doing so, as good as the idea was, were very expensive, not just in terms of money, but also in terms of time and governmental red tape. He tried to explain to them that this obviously wasn’t feasible, even with money they’d set aside for this unfortunate boy’s potential Harvard education.

The Dean mentioned that he felt sorry for them about the tragic loss of their son, but unfortunately he couldn’t do anything for them.

The couple left, and traveled back home to California, where they lived.

It was there that the couple decided to take another approach to honor their son’s memory in a collegiate way.

What did this couple do? I’ll give you hint: The couple was Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford.