Roger Kalisiak, '73, M.S.Ed. '74, left, and Jeffrey Tross, '73, react as they see each other at last year's Golden Huskies Reunion for the first time in 47 years. Tross's wife, Linda, is in the foreground. (Photo from Roger Kalisiak)

NIU roommates Roger Kalisiak, ‘73, M.S.Ed. '74, and Jeffrey Tross, '73, last saw each other in person in 1976. That was until last year at the Golden Huskies Reunion Reception, when a chance encounter led to the two sharing laughs and smiles for the first time in 47 years.

The two explained that the meeting was completely by accident, as neither had seen each other in decades and, like a lot of old friendships, theirs had fallen by the wayside through the passage of time. 
 

There will be plenty more opportunities for reunions – both planned and unplanned – between fellow Huskies who graduated from NIU 50 years ago or more during the Golden Huskies Reunion events on Homecoming Weekend Oct. 17-19. 

This year's event will be the third annual Golden Huskies Reunion, which includes the Golden Huskies reception, where Kalisiak and Tross reconnected last year.

Tross explained that the pair had connected at NIU after living in the dorms. They had mutual friends living in Stevenson South, and they shared an apartment for a year.

June 1973 was a busy month for the two Huskies. Kalisiak was preparing to start graduate school and married  his wife, Cathy, who passed away in 2015 and whom he met at NIU while she was working as an office secretary for the men's Physical Education Department. Tross was moving to Oregon to begin graduate school at Oregon State University; He and his wife, Linda, have lived in Salem, Oregon, since 1975. With the exception of meeting up once in 1976 that they can recall, the two of them hadn't seen each other since that month.

“There was a little bit of contact throughout the years, such as through Christmas cards, but I lost track of Jeff,” Roger said. “But I often thought of him.”
 

The two built their careers and their lives after parting. 

Kalisiak was a faculty assistant while completing his master’s degree in education and joined NIU as an instructor and assistant athletic trainer after earning his degree. He left NIU in the summer of 1975 for a position with Palatine High School District 211, where he served as athletic trainer for 32 years. He retired in 2007 but taught for several years after retirement at NIU in its Master of Science in Athletic Training program. 

Tross spent a few years working in local county government and, in 1980, established a consulting practice in land use and urban planning, which he maintained until his retirement in June 2023.

In September 2023, Tross and his wife were planning a visit to see family in the Chicago area, a trip that they make periodically. 

“I had never been to an NIU Homecoming and decided the 50th was a rare, and fortunate, opportunity, so we scheduled the family visit to coincide with the Homecoming events,” Tross said. “I have only maintained contact with one other friend and alumnus from our time at NIU and he was not going to attend, so I did not expect to see anyone I knew at the reunion.”

Kalisiak, a longtime supporter of and donor to NIU, served on the Golden Huskies planning committee last year, so he attended the reunion as an alumnus and also as a committee member.

Tross and his wife arrived at the reunion on Friday evening, milled around the room with their drinks and hors d’oeuvres, and had a pleasant time but did not recognize anyone in particular.

“Eventually we decided to take a table – this is where things get weird and surprising,” he said. 

When they sat down, there were only four seats left at the eight-person table. The program was about to commence, and three others, who happened to be Kalisiak’s friend and that person’s brother and sister-in-law, sat down. Kalisiak decided to sit down at the Tross’s table and introduced himself to Tross’s wife, Linda, who said, “I know you.”

“I heard ‘Kalisiak’ and coughed up an hors d'oeuvre,” Tross recalled. “I begin to stand, say ‘Roger?...’ My eyes popped out and Roger's jaw hit the floor. Neither of us breathed for what seemed like a full minute of shocked disbelief, but I am sure it wasn't more than 45 seconds.”

Both of them are still gobsmacked at how they ended up running into each other. 

“What are the chances that Roger and I would not just meet at the reunion but that it would happen at a randomly selected table, there was one empty seat, and it was next to my wife?” Tross said. “Statisticians do not need to calculate an answer. I am satisfied that it was entirely unlikely, incredible and unbelievable. All that needs to be said is, 'Go figure.' The next afternoon Linda and I headed out for a short fall tour around northwest Illinois before heading home to the West Coast, but it was hard to get this chance encounter out of our heads. Still is.”

Kalisiak was equally astounded.

“I still think of all the ‘what ifs’: what if we had memory issues, and what if our health was not good? What if I did not accept the invitation to serve on the Golden Huskies committee,” he said. “I love the fact that NIU is trying to build an alumni base for people to reconnect with NIU. Out of all the alumni, who would have thought a random chance encounter like this would happen?”

Haven't seen a fellow classmate in years or even decades? Come to the Golden Huskies Reunion this year - you'll never guess who you'll run into!