Summer 2001

Three Generations of Graduates Reflect on Differences and Similarities at NC State Across the Years

Three generations of an NC State family: (left to right) Emily Edwards,
H.J. “Boe” Green, Susan Green Patterson, Joe Sinodis, Christine Sinodis
and David Sinodis.

The old saying — the more things change the more they stay the same — is typical of NC State, according to three generations of graduates from one family.  Six family members reflected recently about the differences and similarities at NC State across the years.  They are H.J. “Boe” Green (B.S. Forestry ’50), his daughter Susan Green Patterson (B.S. Science Education ’72), her former husband David N. Sinodis (B.S. Entomology ’73; M. Agriculture ’75), their son Joseph N. (Joe) Sinodis (B.S. Mechanical Engineering ’99; M.S. Mechanical Engineering ’01), Joe’s wife Christine Nelson Sinodis (B.S. Biochemistry and B.A. Chemistry ’98), and Joe’s cousin Emily S. Edwards (B.A. Psychology expected ’02).  Other family members associated with NC State are Emily’s father (Susan Patterson’s brother-in-law) Michael W. Edwards (B.S. Textile Management ’73), David’s stepson Brian D. Grantham (B.S. Industrial Engineering ’99) and finally Christine’s brother and sister, Erik D. Nelson (B.S. Biology and B.S. Psychology ’99) and Caryn S. Nelson, who will start NC State in the fall of 2001.

Green graduated from NC State in 1950, a member of the first class to graduate after World War II.  He retired in 1985 after working for the North Carolina State Forest Service for 35 years; the last four years of his career he was the state forester.  In the mid-1970s Green began growing Christmas trees in the North Carolina mountains, and for the past five years he has provided the trees for the College of Engineering and the Chancellor’s office during the holidays.

Physically NC State was a very different place in the late 1940s when Green attended.  Football games were played in Riddick Stadium, now a parking lot, and basketball took place in Frank Thompson Gymnasium, now Thompson Theatre.  The Court of North Carolina was filled with Quonset huts.  The campus buildings were all located between Pullen Road and Patterson Hall.  “The old buildings such as Winston and Tompkins were old even then,” recalled Green with a chuckle.  “The forestry department moved from Ricks Hall to Kilgore Hall while I was here.”

Despite all the physical changes, many things about NC State have remained the same since then.  Most notable is the friendliness of the campus, a factor noted by all six family members.  For several of them it made the difference in their decision to attend NC State.  A comment by Joe Sinodis, seconded by cousin Emily Edwards, typifies the feeling, “Even the tone of State’s acceptance letter was friendly and welcoming.”  Other things unique to NC State that haven’t changed include the sound of the trains running through campus.  They interrupted football games in Riddick Stadium, according to Green, and phone conversations in the dorms, according to Chris Sinodis and Emily Edwards. 

Susan Patterson’s and David Sinodis’s generation experienced exciting times at NC State.  Social protest was in the air; exams were even suspended one semester because of widespread unrest regarding the Vietnam War and students’ demands for amnesty to draw attention to the protest.  Poe Hall and Dabney Hall were brand new, and the physical campus kept expanding.  The predominantly male traditions at NC State were changing as well in regard to the student population.  During the early 1970s a woman was elected student body president for the first time in NC State’s history, and the ratio of men to women changed from 11:1 to 8:1.  Today the ratio is nearly 1:1, with 43 percent women and 57 percent men.  One thing hasn’t changed through the years, though, according to Susan Patterson, Chris Sinodis and Emily Edwards.  Then, as now, there was a shortage of women’s rest rooms in the engineering buildings!

NC State has also been the setting for romance in this family.  Susan Patterson and David Sinodis met in chemistry class at NC State, and Joe and Chris Sinodis met on campus as well.  For all three generations of this family, NC State continues to be one of the foundations underpinning their lives.  All family members have continued their interest in the university, from Boe Green’s furnishing of holiday trees, to Dave Sinodis’ Wolfpack Club activities, to the enthusiasm of the youngest generation for spreading the word about the friendliness of their alma mater.  NC State University, while changing in many ways over the years, remains a constant source of pride and inspiration in the lives of its graduates.

-- rudd --

Media Contact:  Linda E. Rudd, 919/515-3848, linda_rudd@ncsu.edu

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