Major: Cartography and other Useless Humanities Classes
Years on Detling: 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93
Although Neil M. Sheldon's homeland has been alternately claimed as Arlington Heights, IL; Shakopee, MN; and Lakeville, MN; as well as several other parts of the Midwest, it is a fact that Neil was actually born and raised in the Detling Den. His father was a beige-yellow couch and his mother an orange armchair -- although there have been some rumors regarding brief dalliances between the armchair and either MTV (when it actually played music videos) or Wierd Al Yankovic.
In his years on Detling, he lived in room 277 with Clayton T. Benish; room 280 with Jonathan Weyers, a stereo system which could knock down buildings at a volume level of 1.5, an Apple IIc, a large collection of paperbacks, and all the rest of Jon's stuff; and room 282 with Aziz Poonawalla, a stuffed Iguana called Darwin, a Nagel print, a Wooden Staff/Phallic Symbol, a dangerous wooden sword (said to have once been owned by Connor McLeod of the clan McLeod), a glass-breaking poltergeist, and all of the people who played on Aziz's computer. Neil also served as head of the Movie Night committee 1991-1992, but is not responsible in any way for Clockwork Orange or Eating Raoul.
Neil left after his third year in the house, but Detling had ruined him for all other living arrangements. Five years later, he is still unable to find a place where he is able to settle down for more than two years. He graduated from Madison in 1995, with a major in Cartography and other Humanities courses with no job market. He is currently living in Waukesha, Wisconsin in a nice two-bedroom apartment with his fiance and former Detling housefellow, Amy Emmer. He is working for Becker Technology, a PC Consulting company in the Milwaukee area, programming computers and supporting users. As words of advice to future college graduates in liberal arts programs he says, "Don't worry about what your major is, it won't prepare you for anything in the real world and you'll probably end up doing something completely different anyway."
-Neil Sheldon