Published Sept. 12, 2005, in the Waukesha Freeman

Story by Matthew Webber

WAUKESHA - It's the type of schedule college students dread: three political science courses in one day, already with quizzes and homework.

It's a schedule, however, that excites Joe Foy, who on Wednesday started his first semester as a full-time assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha.

The night before the big day, Foy - who gets mistaken for a student when he's not wearing a tie - admitted he was "very anxious" and "sort of apprehensive" about his new responsibilities. For days, he had been arranging his office, organizing his notes and sometimes losing sleep.

But by the end of his first three classes, Foy had entered "the zone." Unwinding in his office, loosening his red tie, Foy seemed pleased - and just a little bit surprised - to have avoided any major catastrophes.

Perhaps his worrying so much beforehand is what made him so well-prepared. Unfortunately, it also kept him up late again, just like a stressed-out student.

"I almost think I overprepared for the day," said Foy, surrounded by memorabilia from his postgraduate university, Notre Dame. "I think I just kind of overthought that initial first day, even to the point of waking up at 4 o'clock in the morning and not being able to go to sleep because you just get really excited about, what are the new students going to be like? What's the atmosphere going to be?"

The atmosphere in Foy's third and final class of the day, American Government, was relaxed, with students in sports jerseys laughing at some of his jokes. Some students were engaged enough to ask questions, and one woman was paying close enough attention to correct what Foy hoped would be his only error of the year: He had printed the wrong edition of a textbook in the syllabus.

"I don't want to give the impression that I thought everything went horribly today," said Foy, his boyish smile betraying that things had not gone horribly at all. "It started off, I think, a little rusty. But by the end of the day, you get back into that zone or into that flow."

Foy's self-assigned homework before his next day of classes was to remove his tie, go for a bike ride and read a book. Once he calmed his nerves, he was confident he would be ready for day two.