It takes a lot for a freshman to gain the respect of Professor Scott Himsel ’85. When Riley Floyd enrolled in Himsel’s Freshman Tutorial class, Fouding Brothers, he quickly gained respect. “He will make a great addition to our pre-law program because he comes here having national mock trial experience,” Himsel said.
In fact, Floyd’s passion for law was the main factor in his decision to come to Wabash. Though he admits to considering DePauw University, he recognized a clear difference between it and Wabash. When he told counselors at DePauw that he planned to go on to law school at Yale, “they saw it as a pipe dream. But here they asked ‘what can we do to get you there?’”
Floyd’s high hopes are far from pipe dreams. His high school mock trial club won two county championships and even got second place in nationals. This past summer he and some classmates had the opportunity to intern for Congressman Dan Burton in Washington, DC. They were in the House of Representatives during session and even got to sit in on the first congressional hearing over the DC metro crash. “We got to see the Capitol in action,” Floyd said.
But he hasn’t always been so focused on America. Though Floyd hails from Noblesville, IN, he has been out to see the world. The summer before his freshman year of high school he participated in the People to People Ambassador Program with some fellow Hoosiers. They spent 21 days touring Europe, spending a week each in Greece, Italy, and France, and experienced a range of activities, from climbing the Eifel Tower to spending the night in an old Italian convent.
After all these travels, Crawfordsville presented a new challenge. Floyd admits that the lack of girls in the classroom has not actually been very noticeable so far. At the time of college choices, however, it did seem like an obstacle. But Wabash’s numerous qualities prevailed. “I love the palpable sense of tradition here,” Floyd said.
Having stayed at the campus twice and experiencing both fraternity and independent lifestyles, Floyd was still left with a housing decision to make. Initially he accepted his bid at the Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) House, where he felt a real connection with the brothers. Yet Floyd, an only child, had never shared a room with other men before, let alone 15 of them, and de-pledged, moving into College Hall. “I loved the house, but it just didn’t work for me.”
