July 2017: Donor of the Month featuring Ed Gallagher
I have longstanding ties to Villanova University. My father attended a semester before the war, then he left to teach kids how to fly fighters. After the war I had two uncles who graduated from Villanova and a majority of priests who taught me in high school were Augustinians.
Being the oldest of seven children there was never a question that I had to attend a local college and live at home. Villanova, St. Joseph’s and LaSalle were the logical choices for a Catholic school but only VU offered Electrical Engineering, the major I favored at the time.
Senior year at Bonner I borrowed $100 from my father’s sister for my application and thus began a ten year journey to graduate from Villanova. In the spring of 1963 I entered school intending to be an Electrical Engineer and also joined the navy ROTC program. Little did I know I bit off more than I could chew. I did not get any scholarship offers so to pay for school I worked two jobs all summer, roofing and grocery store clerk. During the school year I kept the job at the grocery store and occasionally delivered oil with my father. Going into what should have been my first semester as a junior I hit the perfect storm, no money and low grades. I had a guardian angel on the board that got me permission to pay my tuition monthly but nothing helped my grades. ROTC booted me out and I lost my 2-S deferment so in October 1966 I enlisted in the Navy for four years, the best thing that could have happened to me. The four years in the Navy allowed me to have a great time maturing and developing my life skills especially time management, leadership and study habits. After returning to Villanova I managed a 4.0 that first semester, repeating a few courses and clearing up a few “F’s”. Thanks to the guidance of Dean Gallen, I switched my major to Civil Engineering (no more calculus) and with the help of Mr. McNichol obtained part time employment with McCormick and Taylor. This meant with the G.I. Bill a student loan and the part time job I could pay for the new tuition which had more than doubled in the four years I had been away. When I started school you could work as a roofer all summer and pay for a good bit of your tuition. In fact two of my closest younger brothers also paid for their education at Drexel University and LaSalle University utilizing loans, roofing work and a co-op program. That just is not possible with tuition today.
Thanks to the patient professors at Villanova, I finally graduated on a Friday in May 1973 with a Bachelor of Engineering Civil Engineering. Monday morning right after graduation I began working for a national heavy contractor on the subway system in Washington D.C. and thus began a fast and furious career in construction. On November 17th of that year I married the love of my life Karen. We have now, with God’s blessing, three successful children and five lovely grandchildren.
