Estelle Rees Arroyo of Grass Valley had started her college studies 70 years ago at UC Berkeley. On May 22, she'll finish with a bachelor's degree in history from Sac State.
Photo for The Union by Dave Moller
“It’s never too late,” said Estelle Rees Arroyo, and the 92-year-old will prove it when she picks up her diploma from California State University, Sacramento, on May 22.
The Grass Valley woman took some college courses at UC Berkeley after attending high school in the same town. She also entered Diablo Valley College in the Bay Area at the young age of 60, but didn’t finish.
After retiring to Nevada County several years ago, “I was looking at too much TV,” Arroyo said.
“TV information comes to you, but you don’t do anything,” Arroyo said. “I was worried my mind would turn to mush, so I decided, come hell or high water, to go back to college.”
She went to Sierra College first, where she earned associate degrees in social science and liberal arts at 90. Arroyo then decided to complete her degree at Sac State.
“It was either English or history, but I had read a lot of English history, so I picked it, because I also was sure there were interesting things in American history that I wanted to know about.”
While Arroyo didn’t complete her education until late in life, she read voraciously and learned a lot during the years, living in South America and the Middle East as her now-deceased husband, Carlos, moved around for various engineering jobs in the oil industry.
“She has a vast knowledge of information. I always thought she should go on Jeopardy,” said daughter Margaret Arroyo, a Nevada County resident. “What’s interesting for me is that I didn’t know she didn’t have her degree until she graduated from Sierra College.”
Arroyo met her husband at UC Berkeley, where he earned a degree with a special scholarship from his native Panama. He would later teach at Contra Costa Community College for more than 20 years.
The couple traveled the world. Being able to go to Petra in Jordan to view the limestone buildings carved out of the ground and to see the palatial ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia were educations in themselves, Arroyo said.
Once she arrived at the Sac State campus, Arroyo said her classmates and professors were very friendly. She often was asked, “What are you teaching?”
At the end of this school year, two of her professors threw her a surprise party for her graduation, Arroyo said. “There were about 40 people there, and they had a big cake with mortar board on it.”
On her last day at school, “I left class and I passed the library and I got teary-eyed,” Arroyo said. “It was the last time I made that walk.”
Now that she has her degree, what is Arroyo planning to do with it?
“I’m just going to enjoy history more,” Arroyo said. “Now I realize how ignorant I am.”
Dave Moller, Senior Staff Writer
E-mail: dmoller@theunion.com
Copyright of Swift Communications
May 16, 2009
USA: The 92-year-old graduate
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GRASS VALLEY, California / The Union / News / May 16, 2009
By Dave Moller
Estelle Rees Arroyo of Grass Valley had started her college studies 70 years ago at UC Berkeley. On May 22, she'll finish with a bachelor's degree in history from Sac State.
Photo for The Union by Dave Moller
“It’s never too late,” said Estelle Rees Arroyo, and the 92-year-old will prove it when she picks up her diploma from California State University, Sacramento, on May 22.
The Grass Valley woman took some college courses at UC Berkeley after attending high school in the same town. She also entered Diablo Valley College in the Bay Area at the young age of 60, but didn’t finish.
After retiring to Nevada County several years ago, “I was looking at too much TV,” Arroyo said.
“TV information comes to you, but you don’t do anything,” Arroyo said. “I was worried my mind would turn to mush, so I decided, come hell or high water, to go back to college.”
She went to Sierra College first, where she earned associate degrees in social science and liberal arts at 90. Arroyo then decided to complete her degree at Sac State.
“It was either English or history, but I had read a lot of English history, so I picked it, because I also was sure there were interesting things in American history that I wanted to know about.”
While Arroyo didn’t complete her education until late in life, she read voraciously and learned a lot during the years, living in South America and the Middle East as her now-deceased husband, Carlos, moved around for various engineering jobs in the oil industry.
“She has a vast knowledge of information. I always thought she should go on Jeopardy,” said daughter Margaret Arroyo, a Nevada County resident. “What’s interesting for me is that I didn’t know she didn’t have her degree until she graduated from Sierra College.”
Arroyo met her husband at UC Berkeley, where he earned a degree with a special scholarship from his native Panama. He would later teach at Contra Costa Community College for more than 20 years.
The couple traveled the world. Being able to go to Petra in Jordan to view the limestone buildings carved out of the ground and to see the palatial ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia were educations in themselves, Arroyo said.
Once she arrived at the Sac State campus, Arroyo said her classmates and professors were very friendly. She often was asked, “What are you teaching?”
At the end of this school year, two of her professors threw her a surprise party for her graduation, Arroyo said. “There were about 40 people there, and they had a big cake with mortar board on it.”
On her last day at school, “I left class and I passed the library and I got teary-eyed,” Arroyo said. “It was the last time I made that walk.”
Now that she has her degree, what is Arroyo planning to do with it?
“I’m just going to enjoy history more,” Arroyo said. “Now I realize how ignorant I am.”
Dave Moller, Senior Staff Writer
E-mail: dmoller@theunion.com
Copyright of Swift Communications
Estelle Rees Arroyo of Grass Valley had started her college studies 70 years ago at UC Berkeley. On May 22, she'll finish with a bachelor's degree in history from Sac State.
Photo for The Union by Dave Moller
“It’s never too late,” said Estelle Rees Arroyo, and the 92-year-old will prove it when she picks up her diploma from California State University, Sacramento, on May 22.
The Grass Valley woman took some college courses at UC Berkeley after attending high school in the same town. She also entered Diablo Valley College in the Bay Area at the young age of 60, but didn’t finish.
After retiring to Nevada County several years ago, “I was looking at too much TV,” Arroyo said.
“TV information comes to you, but you don’t do anything,” Arroyo said. “I was worried my mind would turn to mush, so I decided, come hell or high water, to go back to college.”
She went to Sierra College first, where she earned associate degrees in social science and liberal arts at 90. Arroyo then decided to complete her degree at Sac State.
“It was either English or history, but I had read a lot of English history, so I picked it, because I also was sure there were interesting things in American history that I wanted to know about.”
While Arroyo didn’t complete her education until late in life, she read voraciously and learned a lot during the years, living in South America and the Middle East as her now-deceased husband, Carlos, moved around for various engineering jobs in the oil industry.
“She has a vast knowledge of information. I always thought she should go on Jeopardy,” said daughter Margaret Arroyo, a Nevada County resident. “What’s interesting for me is that I didn’t know she didn’t have her degree until she graduated from Sierra College.”
Arroyo met her husband at UC Berkeley, where he earned a degree with a special scholarship from his native Panama. He would later teach at Contra Costa Community College for more than 20 years.
The couple traveled the world. Being able to go to Petra in Jordan to view the limestone buildings carved out of the ground and to see the palatial ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia were educations in themselves, Arroyo said.
Once she arrived at the Sac State campus, Arroyo said her classmates and professors were very friendly. She often was asked, “What are you teaching?”
At the end of this school year, two of her professors threw her a surprise party for her graduation, Arroyo said. “There were about 40 people there, and they had a big cake with mortar board on it.”
On her last day at school, “I left class and I passed the library and I got teary-eyed,” Arroyo said. “It was the last time I made that walk.”
Now that she has her degree, what is Arroyo planning to do with it?
“I’m just going to enjoy history more,” Arroyo said. “Now I realize how ignorant I am.”
Dave Moller, Senior Staff Writer
E-mail: dmoller@theunion.com
Copyright of Swift Communications
