For Immediate Release
April 14, 2011

Menlo Park Grandma Earns College Degree Taking a Class a Year for Seven Years

As a working adult, Susan Hemstreet made her dream of a college degree come true through perseverance.

When Susan and Larry Hemstreet finally became empty nesters seven years ago Susan vowed to fulfill a promise she made to herself years ago to earn a college degree. This May, she will accept her Associate’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Cañada College after taking one class a semester for the past seven years.

“I had tried once before when my kids were little but there was just too much juggling involved,” Susan said. “The joke in our family is, that when the time finally arrived, I handed the class schedule to Larry and said, ‘find something you are interested in because we’re going back to school.’”

And, indeed he did. Larry and Susan would each take once class – often the same class – and supported each other through lectures and homework. “His role was to support me but we found that it was something that we could do as a couple that challenged us to get off the couch,” she said. “It was much easier because when I had homework, so did Larry.”

Larry said he enjoyed being a class member who could interject into the lectures small nuggets of wisdom that came from a wider life experience that many of his classmates did not have.

“While not comfortable with being known as a senior citizen, I nevertheless very much enjoyed knowing that we could make meaningful contributions to the lectures through the lens of our life experiences,” Larry said.

Susan and Larry took a variety of classes including sociology and philosophy. They were normally the only grandparents in class. “Larry and I took a philosophy class from Professor Frank Young and we could earn extra credit by hosting a philosophy club meeting,” she said. “Since we were the only people in the class that actually had a house, we hosted. As a ‘thank you’ all the philosophy professors from the San Mateo County Community College District and the district chancellor took us to Ming’s for dinner. Larry and I kept pinching ourselves under the table as we couldn’t believe we were sitting in the company of philosophers having philosophical conversations…we did a lot of listening.”

Susan’s favorite class was sociology and she originally thought about pursuing a degree in sociology but later discovered that she enjoyed anthropology. Sociology and anthropology have nothing to do with Susan’s career as an executive administrative assistant in a high-tech company but she said she’s been able to integrate something from every class she’s taken into her job.

Returning to college for a working professional can be a daunting experience but Susan said the environment at Cañada was supportive. “I didn’t understand how to go to college,” she said. “When I arrived at Cañada I found out I wasn’t alone. My sociology professor, Dr. Olivia Martinez, talked to the students in the first day of class about how a college textbook is laid out. Another professor, Anthony Swanson, took us step-by-step through the process of developing a research paper. That kind of help is critical if students are to succeed.”

After taking classes for several semesters, Susan learned she suffered from test anxiety and Anthropology Professor Jessica Einhorn suggested she work with the professionals in the Disabled Students Program & Services Office to address the issue. “I was relieved to learn that it is common,” Susan said. “They helped me address the anxiety and it made a big difference.”

Now that she has her degree, Susan said she is looking into earning her bachelor’s degree in anthropology. “After seven years of hard work, I need a little break but that’s my next goal,” she said. San Jose State University is the likely destination for her next educational endeavor and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Larry in the seat next to her.

For more information, contact Robert Hood, Director of Marketing and Public Relations, at hoodr@smccd.edu or 306-3340