College student loves learning at age 65
By DAVID DELLECESE
Observer-Dispatch
March 20, 2006
UTICA- When Mohawk Valley Community College recently inducted members into its chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society, the roster included a 65-year-old woman, three clowns, a piano teacher, a Boilermaker Road Race participant, a mother and a grandmother.
And that's just Mary Ann Gorgas.
Gorgas of Yorkville is a student in the college's chemical dependency practitioner program, which prepares students to work with people with addictions.
"I have been fortunate enough to have teachers who love teaching," she said, "and I think that anyone who goes (is lucky) to have teachers who make it interesting, so you don't get bored."
Gorgas is no stranger to addiction herself, having fought a food addiction for years, not learning it even was an addiction until the 1990s.
"I went into a program that addressed addictions, and it changed my whole outlook on life," Gorgas said.
By that time she had already lost the weight, but she gained an interest in helping others deal with their addictions.
It's not the first time Gorgas returned to school, though this one is very different from the last.
"They had a college course at Dutchess Community College on how to be a clown," Gorgas said.
Inspired by winning a Halloween costume contest as a clown, Gorgas attended the course and went on to become three different clowns: "Amazin'," performing at hospices and nursing homes; "Sweetheart," for children's parties; and "Raggedy Ann" for father-daughter banquets.
This time, though, going back to school was no laughing matter.
"She is very self-directed", said Patricia Hirsch, an associate professor at MVCC. "She seems to love learning for learning's sake. Mary Ann proves that you're never too old to go back to school. Having a student like (her) inspires me to be a better teacher".
The first week of school, Gorgas ran into another obstacle when she broke her ankle and had to attend classes on crutches.
"Pride stopped me from using a walker right away, so two weeks later, I was in the hospital. I had done a number on my back," she said.
But another visit to the hospital couldn't keep her away from the books.
"I couldn't wait to get out and get better and get back to class," she said.
When she did use the walker, it may have made things easier physically, but mentally, it hurt as much as falling down in the first place.
"I just died when (a student helping her) said 'My grandmother has one,'" she recalled.
Taking on challenges is nothing new to Gorgas. She walked the 15K Boilermaker Road Race in 2005.
"Physically, I can't run -- it's not a realistic goal. I was last to finish," she said. "The people who were closing down and the people at the stops walked with me. It's not like a huge accomplishment, but it was to me, personally, that I could walk that ... it was a goal I wanted to do. I was proud of myself. I still have my number on my bulletin board."
She couldn't take part in February's America's Greatest Heart Run and Walk because of her broken ankle, but she vowed to return next year.
"That'll be a personal goal," she said. "It's more of a personal success to me that I can do these things and want to ... I love learning and what I'm learning."
Observer-Dispatch
March 20, 2006
UTICA- When Mohawk Valley Community College recently inducted members into its chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa National Honor Society, the roster included a 65-year-old woman, three clowns, a piano teacher, a Boilermaker Road Race participant, a mother and a grandmother.
And that's just Mary Ann Gorgas.
Gorgas of Yorkville is a student in the college's chemical dependency practitioner program, which prepares students to work with people with addictions.
"I have been fortunate enough to have teachers who love teaching," she said, "and I think that anyone who goes (is lucky) to have teachers who make it interesting, so you don't get bored."
Gorgas is no stranger to addiction herself, having fought a food addiction for years, not learning it even was an addiction until the 1990s.
"I went into a program that addressed addictions, and it changed my whole outlook on life," Gorgas said.
By that time she had already lost the weight, but she gained an interest in helping others deal with their addictions.
It's not the first time Gorgas returned to school, though this one is very different from the last.
"They had a college course at Dutchess Community College on how to be a clown," Gorgas said.
Inspired by winning a Halloween costume contest as a clown, Gorgas attended the course and went on to become three different clowns: "Amazin'," performing at hospices and nursing homes; "Sweetheart," for children's parties; and "Raggedy Ann" for father-daughter banquets.
This time, though, going back to school was no laughing matter.
"She is very self-directed", said Patricia Hirsch, an associate professor at MVCC. "She seems to love learning for learning's sake. Mary Ann proves that you're never too old to go back to school. Having a student like (her) inspires me to be a better teacher".
The first week of school, Gorgas ran into another obstacle when she broke her ankle and had to attend classes on crutches.
"Pride stopped me from using a walker right away, so two weeks later, I was in the hospital. I had done a number on my back," she said.
But another visit to the hospital couldn't keep her away from the books.
"I couldn't wait to get out and get better and get back to class," she said.
When she did use the walker, it may have made things easier physically, but mentally, it hurt as much as falling down in the first place.
"I just died when (a student helping her) said 'My grandmother has one,'" she recalled.
Taking on challenges is nothing new to Gorgas. She walked the 15K Boilermaker Road Race in 2005.
"Physically, I can't run -- it's not a realistic goal. I was last to finish," she said. "The people who were closing down and the people at the stops walked with me. It's not like a huge accomplishment, but it was to me, personally, that I could walk that ... it was a goal I wanted to do. I was proud of myself. I still have my number on my bulletin board."
She couldn't take part in February's America's Greatest Heart Run and Walk because of her broken ankle, but she vowed to return next year.
"That'll be a personal goal," she said. "It's more of a personal success to me that I can do these things and want to ... I love learning and what I'm learning."
