Alpha Chi Rho

Judgment Not By Externals, But By Intrinsic Worth

The Story of Graduate Brother Bob Menchel, (Clarkson University, 1961)

Brother Bob Menchel has faced challenges all of his life; not the type of challenges that many of us experience – job loss, stress, traffic, etc. None of those compares to Bob's experience. You see, Bob has been deaf since he was young. And while some may feel sorry for Bob, he has not let it get him down; rather, he has addressed each challenge head-on and persevered through determination, hard work, and the support of his Chapter brothers, family and friends.

Back in high school, Bob was dissuaded from pursuing college prep courses. "The high school counselor decided that I was not college material," offers Bob. The courses he was encouraged to take included English, Elementary Algebra, Social Studies, and a mish-mash of art and mechanical drawing classes. These courses were not going to

get Bob into a college or even a technical college. Fortunately, Bob's VR counselor believed in him and encouraged him to attend Hudson Valley, a newly opened community college. "It was perhaps the best move I made because most of my classmates were returning vets from the Korean War. We worked together, helped each other, and they did not even consider my deafness as [an issue]. They had seen worse and had accepted me as just another guy," stated Bob.

After graduating Bob was unable to find a job. He decided to apply to a four year college, but found some resistance. "All of them turned me down. They did not believe a deaf person could make it through college, even though I had graduated from Hudson Valley Community College." Finally, Clarkson University gave Bob a chance stipulating that Bob could attend if he completed a list of classes before entering the University. "I had to make up intermediate algebra, trigonometry, geometry, successfully take the SAT test, and finish a Physics and Chemistry class." Bob completed all requirements the summer before he became a freshman at Clarkson. Clarkson University admitted Bob with a provision that if he failed one course he would be kicked out of the University.

"Everything went well until my junior year," Bob comments. Due to personal issues, he failed one course and was removed from the University. "To get back in I had to repeat my whole junior year. I took up the challenge and did that. Then I asked the University administration to break my senior year into two years so that I could have more time to study." Without any of the support that students with disabilities receive today, Bob graduated from Clarkson University with a 3.5 cumulative GPA, was ranked fourth in his physics class, and in the top one-third of his entire class. He also had garnered some graduate classes in the second year of his senior year.

The Fraternity played an important role during this time of Bob's life. It was difficult for Bob to adjust to college because people viewed him differently due to his deafness. "Being accepted by AXP made a big difference; my fellow pledges accepted me as just another [postulant] and one of them became my best friend – Morey Petrone." Brother Petrone and Bob would go out together for Sunday dinner because the dining room at the house was closed on Sunday's. "One day, someone came over to our table and said to Morey - 'Why do you go out with Bob, he is deaf' to which Morey replied 'So what, Bob is my friend' – That made a lot of difference being accepted by people." He is still very close with other brothers as well including Roger Jones, Richard Carpenter, Deo Dobbins, Bruce Springfield, Steve Goldwater, and Chris Davis. Bob also served in leadership positions within the Fraternity including Social Chair and involvement in the Ice Carnival. "Alpha Chi Rho gave me the friendships and confidence that I did not have before I became a member of the fraternity."

Bob succeeded in everything he did due to persistence and being unafraid to ask for help. "There was no Section 504 or American with Disabilities Act as there is today. It was rough getting through Clarkson with no support of any kind and I had to develop my own strategies." Bob would ask each professor he had class with to reserve one hour per week for him to meet with so that Bob could clarify things from the lectures the previous week. He tried to take notes from fellow classmates but that was not very successful as very little was taken down in class by his fellow students. He read the text book cover to cover, and took what other information he could find and worked on the problems until he understood them.

Socially, there were times that things got to Bob. "It was more difficult for me to have a normal social life. . .getting a date was not easy." There were times that bothered Bob and he would escape by drinking too much, but he finally realized that he would need to stop and focus on his studies if he was going to succeed.

Bob succeeded in graduate school as well earning an MBA from Rochester Institute of Technology and a PhD from Harvard University in Education. Bob's work experience includes the United States Air Force Research Lab where he worked on the first computer used for transmission of weather data; AVCO where he worked on testing the heat shields for the Apollo program; Xerox where he worked in Research and Development; and the American Association for the Advancement of Science where he served as a National Role Model. Bob also served on the faculty of Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf where he worked with deaf students related to math and science courses. Bob was also instrumental in developing a program under a NSF Grant with Mt. Holyoke College to encourage deaf girls to enter the fields of Engineering, Science, Math and Technology.

When asked how Bob wants to be viewed by others he states, "I don't want people feeling sorry for me because I am deaf. I never viewed my deafness as a disability. I do admit that it has held me back sometimes and there have been times when I was angry about the fact that this happened to me. However, some people have said that my deafness is part of me, it makes me who I am and I doubt that I would have been the person I am today if I had not became deaf at an early age. It has made me more sensitive to other people and an advocate for improving the life of people with disabilities."

Bob's suggestion to college students today is, "Be prepared to be flexible. Don't pick a career just because of the money, pick a career that you are going to enjoy and be happy doing over your working life."

Bob has also faced challenges at home, as well. His first wife, Wendy, passed away in 1990 due to Cancer. In 1994, he married Carol Dehtlefs. Carol attended Potsdam State College and knew Bob while he was at Clarkson University. Bob has four grown children and seven grandchildren. He and Carol enjoy traveling, gardening, and reading. Bob especially enjoys making Adirondack picture frames. They live in Rochester, New York.