Eric J. Hyland
Place of employment, job title and brief description of duties
EPS Printing II LLC. South Windsor, Ct. I operate and maintain a group of machines that collate printed materials into finished booklets and soft bound books. I am responsible for checking the quality of the production steps that precede my operation, and of insuring the quality of the finished product.
Even 20 years later, whenever I visit the campus there are members of the faculty that I visit as if they were a favorite aunt or uncle and we catch up just like extended family does.
~ Eric J. Hyland
Can you recall what made you choose Norwich for your higher education?
I chose Norwich after failing to be accepted at the US Naval Academy. My goal was to become a Navy Officer in the nuclear power program. A Norwich alumni in my hometown told me that Norwich was going to be adding Naval ROTC to it’s military program in the near future. Also since my father was a former Navy man, and my home had a somewhat disciplined atmosphere, I felt that the more regimented lifestyle of a military college was the best fit for me.
Did you visit Norwich before matriculating? Can you remember what your first impression of the school was? If you did not visit the campus, can you remember what your arrival experience was like?
I first visited the campus with an alumnus during Junior Weekend in the spring of my senior year of high school. I found the small size of the campus and the small New England town atmosphere of Northfield very appealing, friendly, and inviting. I did not get a true sense of Norwich Life on that visit however. My arrival experience was completely different from what I had seen on my visit. My platoon sergeant’s first words to us were “Mommy and Daddy are gone, and now you are MINE!” For the first few days it was an exercise in think fast and try to keep up as we learned marching, shoe shining, bed making, the intricacies of the chain of command, and the essential minutiae we came to know as “Rook Knowledge”. Not at all the laid back party atmosphere I saw the previous spring!
You can’t find a better place to test the limits of your character and find out who you really are, intellectually, physically and even spiritually. You will definitely be challenged.
~ Eric J. Hyland
If you could choose one word to describe Norwich and your time spent here, what would it be and why?
Family
We ate together, stood in the rain and snow together, traded “improbable” stories together, and complained together. It seemed like you knew everybody on campus in some way or another. Classes were small and you could talk one-on-one with the professors almost any time. I remember visiting with several of my professors in their homes as a dinner guest. Even 20 years later, whenever I visit the campus there are members of the faculty that I visit as if they were a favorite aunt or uncle and we catch up just like extended family does. Over the years I have kept in touch with many of my Norwich classmates, even one who was off in northern Alaska for a while. The relationships you make at Norwich are as lasting as any set of family ties.
How has your Norwich education benefited you in your personal life? Professionally?
There is a sense of personal confidence, pride, and accomplishment that I carry with me from my time at Norwich. The challenges of “Rook Year”, the Vermont winters and a physics degree have left me with a sense that there is nothing I can’t accomplish if I set my mind to it and try. That sense of mental toughness has served me well.
Professionally I carry a sense of integrity, self-discipline, and “can-do” that has made me a trusted and valued member of every company I’ve worked for over the last 20 years. All of those values were an integral part of my Norwich education, both in the Corps of Cadets and in the classroom.
The challenges of “Rook Year,” the Vermont winters and a physics degree have left me with a sense that there is nothing I can’t accomplish if I set my mind to it and try.
~ Eric J. Hyland
What would you say to a prospective student contemplating attending Norwich for their higher education?
You can’t find a better place to test the limits of your character and find out who you really are, intellectually, physically and even spiritually. You will definitely be challenged.
Is there any one memory from your time at Norwich that you feel characterizes the school and its values?
During my sophomore year I became very close with the family of my faculty advisor in the Physics Department. I remember one evening after dinner my advisor telling me that the purpose of higher education was not so much about learning the material of a particular course of study. Rather it was more about learning how to learn, to investigate, bring together information from various sources and form an independent conclusion. Norwich University’s long tradition of training citizen soldiers / citizen leaders is exactly the same idea — Norwich trains young men and women to be able to think and lead intelligently and independently in whatever walk of life they pursue.
As an alumnus, can you describe a favorite tradition that occurred at Norwich in your time that continues on campus today?
Boy, that’s tough! So much has changed since the 80’s.
The adoption of “food court” style dining did away with my favorite tradition — The Friday 2nd Mess Formation where the Regimental Band played the theme from Hogan’s Heroes. It was such a pick-me-up after a long week. You could feel the whole Corps let out a sigh of relief that the weekend had finally arrived!
Other than that I guess my remaining favorite would be the Homecoming Parade. I still enjoy the ceremony of the Corps welcoming us “old guys” home.
When was the last time you visited Norwich? What was the biggest change you noticed on campus?
I was last up to visit in the late 90s shortly after the Cabot Science Hall and Kreitzberf Library had been built. That whole south end of the campus is so different now. Lemery’s Gas Station & Store are gone, and the whole approach to the South Gate and the road to Disney Field have changed. It is all more attractive now of course, but very different.
