Age no bar! A 94-year-old US man will finally graduate from college on May 17 after working on his degree on and off for more than 75 years.
Age no bar! A 94-year-old US man will finally graduate from college on May 17 after working on his degree on and off for more than 75 years.
Anthony Brutto of Morgantown enrolled at West Virginia University (WVU) in 1939 and started studying engineering, physical education and industrial arts before being drafted into World War II.
He first majored in engineering, which he figured matched well with his passion for design and creating. It proved difficult, though, and he felt as if he did not have adequate guidance, the university said. "So, I switched to physical education and industrial arts," said Brutto.
In 1942, as he was nearing graduation, Brutto was drafted and had to leave school, serving in the Army Air Corps until the end of World War II three and a half years later.
For the majority of that time, he was stationed in Venice, Florida, where he worked on aircraft, using what he had learned in his WVU metalworking classes. After the war, Brutto began working in a local cement plant with his father and brothers. He was still determined to go back to school, though.
In 1946, he re-enrolled at WVU and was ready to finish his degree. Again, before he was able to graduate, he needed to drop out. This time, it was to take care of his ill wife.
Brutto will be one of the oldest graduates in the history of the university when he joins some 4,500 students receiving diplomas during Commencement Weekend as he is awarded his Regents Bachelor of Arts degree from University College on May 17.
When Brutto applied to the RBA programme, it cost a bit more than his $50 college tuition in 1939. "It was always important to me to graduate," he said.
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