Growing up in South Jersey, my siblings and I were often reminded by our mother to seek a college education to better our chances of landing a good job.
My sister Andrea and I heeded her advice and obtained bachelor’s degrees with honors a few years after high school, and began working in our professional fields.
It took my brother, William, the oldest, nearly 50 years to believe he could do it, too. We always knew he had the smarts and the grit. He had to believe it.
After a circuitous journey, he proved it by graduating in December from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock at 67. His extended family could not have been more proud.
‘I don’t want to give up’
He attended three colleges and took classes part time for eight years. He enrolled in remedial math, reading, and writing courses, had tutors, and took algebra four times until he finally passed after two years. He missed a semester after a major health scare in 2022, which interrupted his studies.
“I didn’t want to give up. I was the only one in the family who didn’t have a college degree,” he said. “For me, it was the sky is the limit, and you can do it.”
An increasing number of learners like Will, 35 and older, are joining younger students in college classrooms. More than four million were enrolled in postsecondary education in 2023, according to an Inside Higher Education report.
Some older learners, like my brother, are retired and want to pursue a lifelong dream to obtain a college degree. Others want to change careers or increase their earning potential.
Affectionately called “Willie Will,” my brother dropped out of Bordentown Regional High School his senior year in 1976 to enlist in the U.S. Army. Because he was just 17, our mother, Eva, had to give permission.
Bored with school and failing most classes, Will decided the military would give him a new start and ease the financial burden on our single mother. During his three-year military stint, he became a medic in the Army and obtained his GED.
Despite not having a degree, Will always landed good-paying jobs in a variety of fields. He has been a psychiatric technician, a nursing assistant, a retail store manager, a longshoreman on the Camden waterfront, a truck driver, and a corrections officer.
Along the way, he battled demons and a drug addiction that made him not always make good choices. He eventually sought treatment and has been sober for nearly three decades.
No regrets
“I don’t have any regrets,” he said. “I could have been dead three or four times, so to make it to 67, I have made it.”
Will retired from the Arkansas Department of Corrections’ Wrightsville Unit, where he had worked as a corrections officer for three years after moving to North Little Rock with his wife, Belinda, in 2008. He suffered a light stroke at work in 2015 that left his left side weakened and affected his short-term memory.
Thinking about his unfinished business, he began taking classes in 2017 at the University of Arkansas — Pulaski Technical College, a two-year college in North Little Rock. He also spent a semester at Arkansas Baptist College.
Returning to the classroom for the first time in nearly five decades wasn’t easy. He was three times as old as his classmates. The technology was intimidating: He could barely type and had never used a laptop. He took virtual classes during the pandemic.
His wife, a retired elementary teacher, became his biggest cheerleader, and his college pursuit became a family project. She found him a tutor, reviewed his research papers, and even watched Zootopia, a Disney animation, with him for an assignment.
“I was on the journey with him,” she said with a laugh. “It was something he set his mind to, and he kept on.”
He graduated from Pulaski in 2020 with an associate degree. The family proudly watched the commencement, which was held virtually because of the pandemic. We thought that was it.
Motivated by his advisers, Will decided to pursue his bachelor’s with a vengeance. He rarely missed class, turned in assignments on time, and sought help from professors when needed to stay on track.
He missed the spring 2023 semester after undergoing open-heart surgery to replace an aortic valve. He was back in school the following semester.
When Will informed the family he was finally graduating, I was determined to witness his big day, traveling over 1,000 miles to get there. I wanted to stand in the gap for our mother, who died in 2014. Our sister, a healthcare administrator in Florida and unable to attend, said, “I’m incredibly proud of him and this monumental accomplishment.”
From the moment we stepped on campus with my boyfriend, Jeff, I chronicled every moment, snapping photos and videos, much to Will’s chagrin. I was especially proud when he led his fellow criminal justice major graduates inside as the department’s student marshal.
“I knew I was real smart, but wasn’t using it,” he said. “It was just a matter of buckling down and doing it.”
Always a jokester, he couldn’t resist a sibling jab. “We all know I’m the smartest in the family. I had to go the long route to get there.”
During my whirlwind visit, we celebrated and reminisced about our childhood and lessons from our mother. I had a chance to learn more about the man my brother had become. It was bittersweet that our mother was not there to share the moment.
As we drove around Little Rock, Will pointed to the community garden he helped start in 2011 and served as the manager. He serves on the board of Jefferson Comprehensive Care Service Inc., which operates seven health clinics. He took me to King Solomon Baptist Church, where he was baptized in 2012.
Inspiring others
Will — who earned a second associate degree in addition to a bachelor’s — plans to use his experience to encourage others, especially young Black men. He’s currently weighing an offer to join the university’s faculty. He may pursue a graduate degree.
“If you get the opportunity to become a better person, learn while you can. You have to do the work.”
