With age comes wisdom, and bachelors’ degrees

‘ ‘ ‘ Christine Cassesse battled breast cancer twice. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Now, at the age of 55, she… ‘ ‘ ‘ Christine Cassesse battled breast cancer twice. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Now, at the age of 55, she knows she can overcome anything. And that’s just the motivation she needs to pursue her doctorate in health policy. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ To earn her degree, Cassesse needs to take a few undergraduate classes. Among them is business calculus, the first class she’s taken where most of the students are younger than her. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘At times it’s a little uncomfortable, and I feel out of place,’ she said. ‘But it’s nothing I can’t handle.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ For adults going back to college ‘mdash; whether to acquire graduate or bachelors’ degrees ‘mdash; it can be a challenge to sit in classes filled primarily with teenagers and 20-somethings. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But Cassesse can attest to the fact that as people grow older, they tend to develop a new appreciation for education. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Cassesse drives 45 minutes, sometimes even in ice storms, from her home in Ford City to Pittsburgh every day. She has short, curly, blonde hair with dark roots and blue-gray eyes that have an aura of experience and determination. She finds that she’s a lot more focused this time around. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Cassesse said she feels like Baby Huey in class. It’s a reference to a large duck cartoon character, on TV in the 1950s, that ran around with a gang of smaller ducks. She admitted that younger students probably won’t understand this comparison. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Coral Dean understands the reference. At 49, he is now technically a junior in Pitt’s accounting program. He is in the same business calculus class as Cassesse. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s kind of fun,’ he said of being one of the oldest students in the class. ‘I’m probably more forward than most kids are.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ He doesn’t hesitate to answer the professor’s questions or ask his own. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ During his first stint in college, when he earned an associate’s degree in general studies, Dean was like most students ‘mdash; quiet during class, shy to ask questions and impatient for the lecture to end. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘As you get older, you learn to appreciate more,’ said Dean, who’s sporting a blue flannel shirt and a graying mustache, his hand gesturing while he speaks. ‘Now I don’t hesitate to say something, right or wrong.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ After graduating from McKeesport Senior High School in 1979, he served in the Navy for five years. He worked at in the sales departments at Ikea stores in both Virginia and Pittsburgh and then transferred to a small copy and fax machine company, Van Dyk Business Systems. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Dean’s salary eventually reached the highest it could, given that he had an associate’s degree and not a bachelor’s. So three years ago, he decided that it was time to go back to school. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I wish I would have done this 20 years ago,’ said Dean. ‘[Getting a degree back then] would be worth probably $20,000 to $30,000 more than it is now.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Dean got his general education requirements out of the way at the Community College of Allegheny County while working full time in the evenings. He left Van Dyke Business Systems in the fall to come to Pitt as a full-time student. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 6 million adults older than 25 enrolled in postsecondary institutions in 2000. That’s about 43 percent of all students. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The center predicts that by 2012 there will be 6.7 million adults older than 25 in college ‘mdash; which would be more than half of the college population. The report also said that in 2004, 98 million people older than 25 ‘mdash; 49 percent of American adults ‘mdash; participated in some type of formal classes. These statistics included work-related courses and those offered by postsecondary institutions. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Dean said he hopes that if he earns his bachelor’s degree, he can finally get over some of his regrets. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ He regrets not taking calculus in high school, and he said that it is much more difficult now that he is older. And then there’s the fact that if he would have earned his bachelor’s degree when he was in his 20s, he could have retired in five or 10 years. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘My earning potential hit its limits, and if I would have stayed where I was at, I would have had to push my retirement past 70,’ he said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Getting this degree will help him lower that retirement age. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ But in the end, for many adult students, the experience is still about more than money and retirement. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Cassesse said her experiences as a school nurse, her battles with cancer and countless other experiences gave her a ‘wonderful new perspective.’ She now works harder than she ever has in class. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘With age comes tremendous clarity about what your goals are and about how important that passage of information really is,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Now she never misses a class, sits up front and always pays attention. She even enjoys the challenges of her more difficult classes. She hasn’t taken a math class in more than 30 years, and she tackled biostatistics last semester. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘The wonderful thing about it is that when you’re this age and you haven’t done it in 30 years and all of a sudden you understand something, it’s like, ‘Whoa! I can do this. Woo-hoo!” ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Cassesse commended her fellow classmates for being extremely helpful ‘mdash; especially since the recitation work for her calculus class must be done in groups. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s nice getting the opportunity to meet younger members of the campus community outside of the nursing program,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Desiree Kosmisky, a pre-pharmacy student, is the undergraduate teaching assistant for this business calculus class. At 20 years old, Kosmisky is less than half the age of both Cassesse and Dean. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Kosmisky said it was interesting to have adults in her class, and she frequently wonders why they are there and what their stories are. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘It’s really cool to see how differently they approach classes than most students,’ she said. ‘They always seem more prepared, more likely to ask questions and more involved.’ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Kosmisky realizes that college was harder to access back in the ’70s and ’80s, when the Baby Boomers were graduating high school. She said it is more of a requirement now, and she wonders what the adults in her class think of her. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘You wonder if they have the perception that college culture is lazy,’ said Kosmisky. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ As a teaching assistant for the class, she feels the added pressure of having people her parents’ age in her class. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘I don’t know if I’m helping them or not, because their motivations are so much more different than the rest of the college population,’ she said. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Cassesse said she thinks highly of her fellow classmates. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Though she has some wisdom to share: ‘There is nothing that anybody can hand you that you cannot overcome,’ she said. ‘You can really benefit from every class, from every person or every job ‘mdash; good, bad or indifferent ‘mdash; that you do. Do not miss out on any experience that college holds for you. Enjoy everything, because it is such an incredible ride.’