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When Cynthia Lomax graduated from high school in 1945, she was offered the opportunity to go to college. She decided not to go, choosing instead to work for a few years before marrying and starting a family.
But when a friend of hers went back a few years ago to pursue an associate degree, Cynthia decided that it was time for her to start college, too.
“They say you need to live in the ‘now,’” she says. “That’s what I try to do. Coming to school has opened up things to me that I might not have noticed before. It’s helped me to grow.”
At 77, Cynthia holds the distinction of being the most senior student at Dalton State. And when she graduates next spring with an Associate of Applied Science degree in Business, she will be the College’s oldest graduate, a very young 78.
“This experience has been so important to me. The desire to continue to learn and be active has meant a great deal to me mentally and emotionally.”
Being active has always been a priority for Cynthia, who, over the years, has worked in jobs ranging from her father’s print shop, to a dentist’s office, to banks, to the College’s bookstore.
She and her husband Truett, now retired from the Carpet and Rug Institute, were also busy for many years raising two sons, Wayne and Scott.
But in the late 1990s, Cynthia found that “time got heavy on my hands.”
Desiring a change, she came back to school. Cynthia admits that coming back to college has not been without challenges. When she enrolled in 1999, she needed to take several courses in remedial math before she could tackle college algebra, which she says “almost put me under.”
But she found that she did well in her English, speech, and business courses, and that she liked those subjects very much.
“Being here has made a big difference in my everyday life,” says Cynthia, who shied away from public speaking before she studied Speech, but “now can get up in front of people and talk” without fear.
It’s also changed her private life in some ways. She says that Truett, who has been “very supportive,” has had to “do a lot for himself” since she enrolled. But the two still manage to frequently get away to their houseboat on Lake Chickamauga, where they enjoy entertaining friends and riding their seadoos.
She also makes time to walk regularly and do volunteer work, including serving as the President of Sounds of Joy, a choral group sponsored by the First Methodist Church.
While Cynthia has no immediate plans for continuing her education past her associate degree, she expects that she might come back to school to audit classes that interest her.
As an adult student, Cynthia says she sees now “how important it is to get your basic education while you’re young. I am so grateful that I’ve been able to continue mine.” |
