August 17, 2006 - 5:00pm
You’re never too old to hit the books.
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Proof that age is no barrier to education is repeatedly demonstrated by Malaspina University-College students. Frank Sarton, 75, earned his second Malaspina Bachelor of Arts degree – with distinction - in June 2006. Ann Buchanan, 52, earned a Bachelor of Liberal Studies degree and is now working on her Master’s degree. Charlene Storti, 45, is starting a new career in the pulp and paper industry.
“The age range on campus often surprises people,” said Fred Jacklin, Registrar/Director of Enrolment Management. “There’s an image, perpetuated by media, that college is for people just out of high school. That is no longer true.”
People of all ages enrol in courses out of interest, to complete a degree, or to change careers. A fall 2005 survey of Malaspina students revealed 49 per cent of academic students and 52 per cent of vocational students are 25-plus; 30 per cent of academic and 32 per cent of vocational students are 30-plus.
One vocational student is 45-year-old Charlene Storti, who graduates from Malaspina’s Pulp and Paper Operations certificate program on September 15. She already has interviews at four pulp mills and confidently expects to start her new career at an entry level wage of $25.45 an hour.
”There is tons of opportunity,” she said, adding that she expects everyone in the class to find jobs upon graduation. In addition to good wages, the mills offer excellent benefits and the opportunity for further professional development and advancement.
In Malaspina University-College’s Liberal Studies department, an estimated 40 per cent of students are over 30. Although mature students often tell department chair Dr. John Black that they are worried about their ability to learn, to write, or to interact with younger students, those fears quickly vanish.
“They do really well. They’re often more motivated than the younger students, and more focused,” Black said.
Older students excel in the seminar format of Liberal Studies’ classes, drawing on their life experience to enrich discussion.
An example is Parksville business owner Ann Buchanan, who earned her degree in 2005. Now she is studying for a Master’s degree in Liberal Studies through a condensed summer program at <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />St. John’s College in New Mexico. She expects to complete her Master’s degree in 2008 – and is already considering a doctorate in philosophy.
“Going to university was something I had always planned to do in my life. However, like most women, having a family and working got in my way so I thought I had become too old to go back to school,” Buchanan said. Then she met older women who had returned to school and was inspired to enrol in an English course at the Parksville/Qualicum Centre.
Bitten by the advanced education bug, she enrolled in more courses. Ten days after graduating from Malaspina, she started on her Master’s degree. “I couldn’t allow the learning to stop. Malaspina’s Liberal Studies program had opened my eyes to how much more there was in the world to see. I had been to England, Italy, Greece, and the Czech Republic with them and I was hooked.”
One of Malaspina’s most senior mature students is 75-year-old Frank Sarton of Duncan, who received his third degree, a BA in Women’s Studies, in June 2006. He originally received a degree in Theology in the Netherlands, and then a BA in Philosophy and Psychology from Malaspina in 2003.
Why does he continue to learn? “First of all, my interest,” he said. “Secondly, I’m a volunteer in Boy Scouts, so I need to know more to do a proper job.”
As a world traveller, he’s concerned about the status of women in developing countries and took women’s studies to write knowledgeably about the issue.
He is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in medical ethics through Athabasca University’s distance education program.
For mature students who’d like to hit the books, wrap up a degree, or start on a career change this fall, Malaspina still has openings in some academic and vocational courses, including the Pulp and Paper Operations program. For information go to http://www.viu.ca/.
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