STILL DISCOVERING
Bev Eddy first stepped on a college campus in 1961.
Forty-seven years later, you'll still find her in a college classroom every Thursday night.
"I've been taking classes for the last many, many years," Eddy said. "At all the different towns I've lived, I've accumulated a few credits."
But no degree, which for whatever reason — personal problems, money issues and the like — had always eluded Eddy.
At 65 years old, Eddy is a year and a half's worth of classes at the Grand Junction branch of Colorado Christian University from earning a bachelor's degree in education.
Five things to know about Bev Eddy:
- She has a cat she took in as a stray.
- She likes to have hot tea in the morning on her porch.
- Her granddaughter is a gymnast, and her grandson helps her with math.
- She is a member of a craft group.
- She is a "Star Trek" fan.
It's no secret the classroom has evolved over time. Computers have taken a center stage to learning and students have let their hair down as rules and social norms relax.
It's one thing to observe those changes, however, and another to experience and cope with them as a lifelong student.
"Education has changed tremendously," Eddy said. "The attitude has changed."
Eddy began her collegiate career at the University of Dayton in Ohio. As a private Catholic university student, Eddy was buffered from much of '60s revolution taking hold on many campuses across the country at the time and was subject to much more regulation.
"The campus was huge, which you don't have now with all these online classes," Eddy said. "It was very demanding, very strict."
And no bending the dress and conduct codes either, she said. Fast forward to the 21st century, Eddy said, and the dress code is "practically nonexistent now."
Access to resources is a mouse click away, Eddy said, as libraries go the way of the dinosaur. But the dizzying pace of technological evolution has its drawbacks.
"I'm still discovering things that I've missed," Eddy said. "Some of the material is way over my head."
Like math. Eddy said she was sure she would have failed her math final at CCU if it hadn't been for outside help she received — from the professor and her grandson.
Eddy said she doesn't know if she will become a teacher after completing her degree. Given the politics of public schools, she said she "may not be able to behave" herself.
But it seems clear that degree or no, Eddy is destined to remain a lifelong student.
"I also would love to be one of those 80- or 90-year-old women who finally get their pilot's license," she said. "Even if I never fly."
Quick facts about Colorado Christian University:
Location: 2452 Patterson Road, Suite 200
CCU is a private, Christian school, but it does not require its students to be Christian. The academic programs at CCU are meant for adults continuing their education, so all classes meet in the evening. Three-credit courses are five-weeks long with class lectures once a week. The Grand Junction school has more than 220 active students. Online learning is a large component of CCU with tests taken online, homework turned in online and class discussions take place online. CCU's business degrees are its most popular, and the Grand Junction school offers an accounting certificate; bachelor's degrees in accounting, business administration, organizational management in Christian leadership, human resources, and project management; and a master's degree in
business administration.
For more information, visit ccu.edu.
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