Going Back to School Locally, Despite Age or Experience

An article in the August edition of San Francisco Chronicle Magazine profiles four local "older" persons who return to school at the unexpected age of 43 to 67.

• Barbara enrolled in college at Dominican University's Pathway's program for "oldies." Her daughters were both on campus at the time. She later pursued a Green MBA, where she says, "the stress melts away, and it is just about improving yourself."
• Jim retired from the aerospace industry (after an early career as a helicopter pilot in the Marines). He went back to school, taking every science course that he could find close to home (at Foothill College) and then went on to pursue two graduate degrees. Currently, he leaves home daily on a 5 a.m. boat to research his master's thesis on the impact of atmospheric carbon dioxide on algae. He plans to volunteer and tutor with his degrees.
• Betty retired as a professor of nursing at University of San Francisco and about a week later became a student at Fromm Institute, also at USF.
• Steve took a six figure pay cut to become a therapist. He found a good school close to work, and launched his master's program in family therapy. A few terms later, he took a supervised internship as a high school counselor and began reducing his hours at work before leaving officially a year ago.

Click here to read a more detailed profile of each of these later life students (a.k.a., "boomer resumers") and Hazel Soares, a 93-year-old Junior at Mills College.