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James Lee Rayburn
Savannah, Georgia
EE, 1967

In my senior year (1967), I broke my right hand the day before the quarter started and it was in a cast the entire quarter. I was registered for 18 hours that quarter including 15 hours of engineering classes. Since I was nearing graduation, I certainly did not want to cancel any of those classes. The cast made it impossible for me to write in a normal manner. Several friends shared their class notes with me but taking tests, including finals, was a real challenge. Using a slide rule for problem solving was also challenging. Taking tests in electromagnetic fields orally was not a lot of fun! I could hold a piece of chalk between my index and middle fingers and write on a board. My roommate was a pharmacy major and copied what I wrote on the board onto paper so that I could give it to the professors for grading. With the help of my friends and some understanding professors who allowed a little extra time to work problems, I managed to pass all of the courses.