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Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

The Search For Rudy’s Fortune

CHIRSLEJARZAR.COM
Relationships formed at Georgetown that mirror that of Rudy and Fortune from the movie Rudy can be the most valuable.
CHIRSLEJARZAR.COM Relationships formed at Georgetown that mirror that of Rudy and Fortune from the movie “Rudy” can be the most valuable.
CHIRSLEJARZAR.COM Relationships formed at Georgetown that mirror that of Rudy and Fortune from the movie "Rudy" can be the most valuable.
CHIRSLEJARZAR.COM
Relationships formed at Georgetown that mirror that of Rudy and Fortune from the movie “Rudy” can be the most valuable.

It can be easy to forget that part of what makes Georgetown our home for most of the year is the people who work there. Relationships formed with staff members are unlike those formed with faculty, friends or classmates. They are not better or worse, they just add a different aspect to a student’s experience here on the Hilltop.

From the security guards who swipe students in to the cooks that prepare food, students will interact with staff no matter where they go or what they do. Sure, some interactions are awkward and some are just void of any conversation, yet there will come those that turn into something more. In my experiences, these relationships have come from either consistency or spontaneity.

There was a security guard who worked the night shift in Darnall Hall multiple nights a week. Let’s call him Ralph. Every time I saw Ralph, whether I was alone or with friends, whether it was 10 p.m. or 4 a.m., he would always make conversation. In short, the man loved to “get talks.”

In the wonderful movie “Rudy,” Daniel Ruettiger perseveres to transfer into the University of Notre Dame and eventually make the football team’s practice squad. Coming from a middle class family with many children to support Daniel, or Rudy, as he comes to be called, gets a job as an assistant groundskeeper. This is where he meets Fortune.

Fortune is the head groundskeeper at the football stadium. A former football player himself, he relates to Rudy’s struggle to represent the blue and gold on the gridiron. Rudy cannot afford a room, so he sneaks into Fortune’s office every night through a window. Upon finding out, Fortune takes Rudy under his wing and gives him a key of his own.

The two challenged each other in many ways. Fortune served as a motivator when Rudy lost focus, an inspiration when Rudy lost his drive and a friend when Rudy needed comfort. Rudy helped Fortune reconcile with his past and make peace with the game. Was their relationship overdramatic? Unrealistic? That is not for me to say.

What I do know is what I’ve experienced so far at Georgetown, especially with Ralph. It was fascinating to get to know this personality: He would recommend takeout places to my friends and me, he had an fascination with the origins of last names, guessing where we were from when swiping our GOCards, and would always give a friendly wave rain or shine, night or day. By the end of the year, we had built up that ultimate trust so that he would be strolling in the lobby and wave us on to swipe ourselves in.

These relationships are just waiting to be formed, coming about from some spontaneous connections. Take the Wok line for instance. One of the most prized stations of O’Donovan Hall has always been worked by some of Georgetown’s most charismatic employees. Sadly, more times than not, a student will pass through without saying a word other than their order.

Ralph and my relationship was finite, as were those with the workers of the Wok. They came about due to circumstance and will most likely not continue next year. However, it is these kind of relationships that are essential to making Georgetown seem like home.

Although I cannot claim to have found a relationship with a member of the staff that rivals that of Rudy and Fortune, who is to say that another student has not? The cameras may have not been rolling and there may be no record, yet I’m certain if asked, most students would be able to testify that they are there.

Yes, Hollywood has exaggerated these types of relationships and they always will. That is what we love these movies for.

To say one will never have a relationship like the one Rudy did is close-minded; to be insistent upon having one is unrealistic; yet to be hopeful for one might just lead to some unexpected good fortune.

Justin Kotwicki is a rising sophomore in the College. Getting Talks appears every other Wednesday at thehoya.com.

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