The alumni spent less time on academics than on summoning memories of extracurricular activities, few of them suitable for publication.

Like the time Trenkle and a group of students indulged in a time-honored Parsons' tradition of using cherry bombs to blow up rural mailboxes. That venture ended with the culprits driving a car through a cornfield — with lights off — to elude an irate posse of vigilantes from a neighboring town.

Their escapades notwithstanding, Parsons graduates emphasized they've fared pretty well in the real world.

"It's amazing, starting out at Parsons, what we all became," said Darcy Mellen-Sullivan of Naples , Fla. , class of '72.

For those willing to put in the work, say alumni, the Parsons Plan nudged them toward what many once believed to be an impossible achievement: the "C" average necessary to receive a degree.

Even Jordan , after a decade of academic toil, emerged from Fairfield with a sheepskin.

His grade point average?

"Enough to get a diploma," he said.

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