slides: COLLEGE GUIDE: Famous Grads’ Inside Tips

Burke Magnus

Holy Cross '88

Now he's ESPN Senior Vice President, College Sports Programming

Favorite Central MA Spots:

Coney Island Hot Dogs, Miss Worcester (“Miss Woos”) Diner, Joe De’s Pub, Wonder Bar (Pizza & Beer),  Piccadilly Pub

Ron Shaich

Clark University '76

Now he's Executive Chairman and Founder of Panera Bread Company

Favorite Central MA Spots:

Favorite off-campus place: Ron’s Florence Street apartment

Nightlife: Moynihan’s and Blarney Stone

Food: The White House on Pleasant Street

Anne Lynam Goddard

Assumption College ’77

Now she's President and CEO of ChildFund International

Favorite Central MA Spots:

Big Boys Restaurant... We used to go there for late night food at 11pm. There would always be a line even at late hours of the night.

Other universities for parties like WPI because it was down the road

We didn’t have as many cars as students do today so we did a lot of things on campus. The biggest thing on campus was when the pizza man would come and we’d all go and order our pizza. (Photo: Robert Carlin)

Dennis House

Assumption College ’85

Now he's an Emmy Award-winning journalist for Eyewitness News at CBS affiliate WFSB TV-3 in Hartford, CT; and Channel 3 Eyewitness News Anchor Moderator of "Face the State," Connecticut's most watched local political program

Favorite Central MA Spots:

My favorite bars were Casey’s Pub and Lietrims, both big Assumption hangouts.       

We also went to a Mexican place called Acapulco, and there was a diner called Miss Worcester, and a restaurant called the Boynton. 

David Gewirtz

WPI ’82

Now he's the Founder of ZATZ Publishing; Director of the US Strategic Perspective Institute; Distinguished Lecturer, CBS Interactive; and author of How To Save Jobs and Where Have All The Emails Gone?

Favorite Central MA Spots:

I lived off the meal plan and the Daniels’ Hall snack bar for pretty much my first two years at WPI.

I spent many of my quarters at the 24-hour store a few shops up from the Boynton. As I recall, the Boynton had Asteroids, while the 24-hour store had Defender.

I spent a great many of my nights (when I wasn’t vying for terminal and keypunch time at WACCC), at the Denny’s on Lincoln Street, usually around 4am, when I was either studying or planning out my MQP (I don’t think WPI has those anymore).

There was a very nice Italian restaurant called (I think) Angela’s that had a Spaghetti Carbonara that’s still the best I ever had. We sometimes went to breakfast at the Webster Inn all the way across town.

David Gewirtz II

More favorite Central MA spots:

There was, of course, Spag’s, and we walked from campus all the way to the other end of Worcester to watch the midnight show of Rocky Horror at least 30 or 40 times.

There was also the Higgins Armory, which was amazing.

There was a wonderful group of friends back then, so I spent a lot of time at their homes, in a multi-student apartment called “The Annex”, and at Trowbridge House (it was an all-girl residence at the time).

John Dufresne

Worcester State College ’70

Now he's an award-winning author and professor

Favorite Central MA Spots:

Some of the places I frequented probably aren't there any more. One place that is, I think, is the Broadway on Water Street. Went there every Sunday morning for years. Afternoons I met friends at the Jersey Bar on Main St. for coffee and talk. I loved Moynihan's Bar on Main St. The Highlander had great onion rings. The Sole Proprietor is there now. Many nights after a carousing we'd all end up at the Parkway on Shrewsbury St. for meatball sandwiches.  The Paris Theater had the best movies--classics and foreign and changed the bill every couple of days.